Chain reaction

I barely fixed one problem when another popped up and derailed Alistair's hopes of a podium position in the NorCal High School Mountain Bike League. I am happy to say that my Easton crank is working fine, Dura-Ace part and all. I was also able to fix the hub on my HED3 wheel, making it so that we now have a dedicated trainer wheel. Even so, a series of chain mishaps marred our weekend.

This past weekend was the Folsom Challenge. The second in the NorCal series, and Alistair's first race as part of the Oakland Composite Team. Because his mountain bike is now too small, he had hoped to ride mine. Then, during a training ride last Wednesday, he broke the chain. We were forced to go out to Folsom with the 17 inch Specialized.

First I want to remark that the NorCal race was an eye-opener. Unlike the regular road cycling races, that are held in lonely and deserted places, at inconvenient times, this race was held at a prime venue in the middle of the day. It was extremely well organized and well attended. There were spectators too, tons of them, and they were cheering!

Furthermore, the NICA organization -which is separate from USA Cycling or NORBA- appeared to have no trouble keeping track of 500+ competitors in different divisions. They posted real time results while races were ongoing and provided free wireless and 3G access. They had monitors on course to keep track of lapped riders and technical issues. No cheating here!

Because this was his first race, Alistair had to race freshman division and start in the middle of the pack. He did struggle a bit in the first section, which was on deep sand and by the time he disappeared into the woods he was probably as far back as 20th place. Nevertheless he managed to come back and by the end of lap 1, he was in the 10th spot. He moved up further and was assured of a podium spot when his chain broke, forcing him to drop out of the race. That is two broken chains in one week!

He was quickly rescued but visibly disappointed. If he had landed on the podium it would have been a first for Oakland Composite.

In the afternoon, we stopped by the Land Park Criterium and he raced Cat 3 for training. It was a shock to go from the well-attended, professionally run NorCal race to the same-as-usual, ncnca mishmash in the park.

Saturday I ran 8 miles in the hills. On Sunday I rode around a bit on my road bike, but mostly rested.

Monday, 15.5 miles in the hills. It's getting better but we are not quite there (for a PR in Boston that is).

An update

The weather has been bizarre. We've been caught in a sun-sandwich of sorts on most days. The Eastern valleys have fog and it spills over the hills, looking very pretty (see picture), but also very cold and wet. To the West, the Bay and downtown Berkeley is covered in haze or fog as well. In between it is sunny and warm.

Twice I went riding in Redwood park, starting out at the Skyline (Oakland) gate and continuing on the rim trail to the Pinehurst gate. The distance is about 4 miles. Twice, when I started out it was warm and sunny at the Skyline gate and I felt distinctly overdressed in my tights, long sleeve jersey and booties. Yet as soon as I approached Pinehurst, a thick fog covered the trail and it was cold, windy, wet, with almost no visibility. Then I felt cold, all in a space of 3.5-4 miles.

On Sunday I ran 12 miles on the Alameda creek trail. It has been a while since I ran that course and it was pretty as ever, with plenty of sun and a salty taste in the air. On Monday I rode on rollers for 1:20, going pretty hard. On Tuesday I ran on my treadmill for about an hour. I tried to run hard, but I could not keep the pace. I also had to stop to adjust the tread belt repeatedly. Then on Wednesday and Thursday I did the Redwood rides described above, with some extras. About 2 hours each.

Today, I ran for 1:06 minutes on the treadmill. I tried a 30 minute tempo run and was moderately successful. I more or less kept my pace at about 8.7 mph. What was even better was that the treadmill did not act up at all, so I could keep going.

I helped Alistair with some time-trial training on rollers and had Annelise run 2.5 miles on the treadmill. All in a day's work.

Specificity

Training is highly specific. There is no such thing as "being in shape" as a general category. Usually what people mean when they say there are "in shape" is that they can walk or jog a certain distance without being out of breath. In essence that means their cardiovascular system is used to a certain amount of stress that exceeds lying around on the couch all day, or working in an office.

Those people would be surprised if they suddenly were asked to perform above average in a sport that they did not train for. Then they would say, "I don't know why I feel so trashed, or why I got dropped, or why I was out of breath, I thought I was in good shape." And the truth is they may well have been and be very fit.

This post was triggered by two events. First I read one of my favorite blogs and found out the author, who is an ironman athlete and distance runner/cyclist, reported he had trouble finishing a marathon, despite having run ultra marathons in summer. It turns out he did very little running since those ultra-events and has been cycling almost exclusively. So while his cardio was good, his run fitness was not.

Then, yesterday I was out on my regular 10.5 mile hilly run (the Shepherd loop) and I too was suffering despite just completing a super power test on the bike, that put me solidly in the Cat2 power range. I.e. my cycling fitness is near its high, but I suffered on a run that -until recently- I used to run on a weekly basis. And it wasn't because I was tired from biking. It was simply because I haven't run much for about a month.

In some sense, this situation is even worse than having no training. One is fit when it comes to cardiovascular output, but the mechanical system is not on par. At best that will mean a lot of suffering, at worst, an injury. So I will try to remedy this situation before it gets out of hand. I just installed a new treadmill and will do some running on that.

On Monday I rode 20 on my mountain bike. Redwood was very muddy and I looked pretty dirty when I got back. There must have been five pounds of mud on my bike too.

On Tuesday I rode on rollers for 1:20 and on Wednesday again for 1:10. Both pretty intense workouts with a power test to boot.

On Thursday I rode my roadbike for 30 miles. I broke my rear wheel on Tunnel and had to come back and switch it out. First I thought it was just a spoke, but it turns out the rim was cracked in several places. Not good. I think I need a new wheelset for Christmas.

On Friday I ran my 10.5 mile loop -and suffered.

Today a one hour run on the treadmill. More suffering and more evidence to the specificity of training. I had trouble holding my pace at 8 mph. Not too long ago I could run 8.25.

A dull and boring week

I can't say I enjoyed this week much. The weather was so-so, cold, overcast and generally miserable. Temperatures below average, drizzly nights, and fog-ridden days. It felt like winter. I ended up spending most of the week indoors, hiding from nature.

On Monday I rode 1:15 on rollers burning 1,133 calories in the process. On Tuesday I tried another long run on the treadmill, but I could not keep going at 8 mph without taking a break. I ended up running for about 1:35 and covering 12 miles, but I stopped twice. Later that day, I felt like I was getting a cold. Not good.

On Wednesday I swam 2.5 miles in two sessions. In the morning I swam 120 laps, pretty fast, and in the afternoon I took the kids to the pool and swam another 100 laps, for a total of 220 or 2.5 miles.

Yesterday things were a bit better and I rode for 1:25 on rollers, burning 1,331 calories. I spent most of my time putting out in excess of 250W. That was better.

Today is another miserable day, but I decided to go out anyways. I rode 20 miles on my mountain bike, now outfitted with new Hutchinson tires. The ride went very well and I felt pretty good.

Hopefully, next week will be warmer and sunnier.

Superglue

On Sunday I drove Alistair to the Panoche Road Race (Junior State Championship). I rode in the follow car with Andrew Lanier Sr. and got to watch the race. Even though team Specialized carried the day (1-2 in the 15-16, win in the 17-18, and a masters win too), the Junior "team" did not ride like a team. It is quite clear that Specialized wins because they have the best riders, not because of any team strategy. I guess juniors have a lot to learn. It was quite interesting to watch.

Afterwards, I rode my mountain bike, but when I got to Redwood park I flatted. There was a large gash in my tire and I had nothing to fix it with. A friendly guy took me home and I replaced the tire-which was quite worn- with a new one and set out again. Would you believe that I rode to Redwood and flatted on the same spot? Another gash, this time in a new tire. I called Barbara who took me home. So much for training;)

On Monday I rode 22.5 miles on the new tire, now superglued to perfection. Or so I thought? Because as soon as I got to Marlborough Terrace (about 0.7 miles from home) the tire started losing air again. I quickly rode home. Not wanting to throw out a new tire, I took it off and superglued the inside of the gash. So far, it seems to be working. I need to ride it to find out. As for the superglue -I took it with me on the 22.5 mile ride- it made a nice mess inside my saddle baggie. Apparently, my "superglue strategy" needs more work.

Today I swam 180 laps or a little bit over 2 miles. It went pretty well and took me about 1:15. Not a record setting pace, but all free-style and all non-stop. Probably the longest I ever did freestyle.

Stroke? Try muscle

Another image to make the same point: what counts in swimming is muscle. Take a look at those deltoids. Michael Phelps in the pool.

Today I rode 56 miles at an average speed of 16.8, which is not bad given all the hills. I got a flat in Alamo, but fortunately there was a bike store nearby. I was a bit shocked at having to pay $5.40 for a tube, but the store people were quite nice and they helped me change my tire.

Yesterday I rode 20 miles on my mountain bike, essentially the redwood loop except that I went straight back on the West trail instead of making the extra loop that follows Redwood Rd. I was a bit pressed for time so I had to make concessions. The straight trail however, makes up for lost distance by inserting a lot more climbing.

On Wednesday, I came home early from the Neurotech meeting and took the kids to the pool. I ran 8.5 miles on the treadmill while they swam. On Tuesday I swam 164 laps or 3,000 meters. On Monday I took a rest day.

Painful run and no-so-painful bike

Yesterday I ran 10.5 miles in the hills. My "regular" run, down to Montclair village via Temescal, up Shepherd Canyon to Skyline, and back home over Grizzly. Granted there is some serious climbing here, but distance-wise it isn't that far. Not for someone preparing for a marathon.

I was quite surprised at how sore I was afterwards. Especially my calf muscles. They felt like someone chewed on them for a while. I'd thought for sure that after my 100 K run week, I would be up for any challenge. However, a careful look at the calendar reveals no hill running for almost a month. I guess hills are different from treadmills. This run is also a lot longer than the one hour sessions I did during the 100K week.

Today I rode about 30 miles on my mountain bike. I went to Redwood, rode the West trail and went down to the stables. Today was the first time I rode the hill to the observatory. I had never managed to do it, and surprisingly enough I did not find it all that hard. Go figure!

From the stables on Redwood road I went to McDonald. There I climbed the trail that turns into a creek bed after the rains. Although it hasn't rained for a week, there was still plenty of runoff. It wasn't really bad but there were a few sections that were extremely slippery and muddy. I had to walk one steep part because there was no traction whatsoever.

I continued on to the stone bridge and up the grade to the water-fountain. There I filled up and turned around  and rode to the Bort meadow parking lot. I took the road down and then up to the top of Pinehurst, where the the East side trail is. It felt good but I was spent when I got home.

I am quite tired now with faint aches in my calves as I sit here, but overall it things are pretty good.

Busy weekend

This weekend's action started with the Berkeley Hills Team time trial. Alistair was signed up with Marcus Smith, but he has been sick all week and so he was quite anxious before the start. Things went more or less OK, although he could not keep up with Marcus on the climbs -he is a faster climber than Marcus.

That made him feel bad about letting his team down. However, I think he did quite well considering the state he was in. He still has a cold as a leftover from a week long flu with some pretty bad diarrhea and stomach upsets. He stayed home from school for 3 days.

I took my mountain bike and rode up Papa  Bear and part of Mamma, where I waited for them to show, then I rode back with them over Papa to the parking lot. After we got home, I rode another 10 miles. The weather was good and I rode quite hard. I was quite tired afterwards.

Today I went for a swim. I swam 150 laps (3,000 yrds), all free-style with no stops. It has been a while since I last swam but it went fine. I took the kids and they played in the water for a while.

I heard we had two more people signing up for Team Cindy at Ironman Lake Placid. Slowly but surely I guess. Can't ignore the bad economy;)

Inclement weather

Back from DC where it was nice and warm, to San Francisco, where it is cold and wet. Yesterday we had a dry interlude in the rain although it was pretty cold. I went on a 30 mile mountain bike ride in Redwood and Chabot. This time I rode the Goldenrod loop and came back over McDonald. Overall it was pretty muddy and one could certainly tell that I had been off-road.

The trails were OK though and even though there was mud everywhere, nowhere was it deep enough to get bogged down or lose significant traction. I only "slipped" once and had to hop a few steps before clipping in again. At one point I had an encounter with a dog that would not stop and whose owner was clearly not in control. She was also deeply immersed in her iPod and was totally unaware of her surroundings. Not good.

Today, more showers with periods of clearing in-between. I swam for an hour and 10 minutes and covered 160 laps (or 3,200 yds, or 3/4 of an ironman swim). I had some minor trouble with pre-cramping in my right foot but nothing bad enough to make me stop. Although I was quite happy when it was all over. I did swim the first 53 much faster than the second 53, and then I slowed down some more on the third "set." Not that I stopped or anything and I did a continuous free-style from start to finish.

Added another 3/4 mile swim in the afternoon. In the driving rain, but it felt really good. I was going fast (I think).

I am happy to report that a second person has joined team Cindy. Eight more slots to go!

More record sunshine

The records keep falling. Monday was great, and so was today. Earlier, when I picked up the kids from school, the thermometer read 71F (nearly 22C). It just keeps going and going (although it is supposed to get cooler on Thursday).

Yesterday I did a second 4,000 yd swim. It took 1:15 approximately -it is hard to time at the pool- but it sounds about right. All freestyle, non-stop, and feeling a whole lot better after I finish than just six months ago. I guess the long swims are working for me. I am more convinced than ever that swimming is about power.

Here is what John Cobb wrote: "Swimming is just futile, every now and then you get a few laps where it's all working, you feel the water rushing over you, then, suddenly you're not doing you elbow right or something. More laps is all I hear for advice." 

I think he captures it just right. One does get sloppy and then the magic disappears. I have described similar experiences and I think others experience it too. That may give one the impression that swimming is all about form. But the reason why one gets sloppy has a lot to do with being tired or not having the muscle stamina to keep one's form. It is really more about muscle power and endurance. The form "finds itself," i.e. your body figures out a way that works for you.

Today, I rode my mountain bike for a good 30 miles. Went through Redwood, down Pinehurst, to Bort, up the grade and back on Goldenrod. After a short stretch on Skyline, back into Redwood park and on home. With a little extra loop down to Fish Ranch.

Sunny and crisp

Yesterday was a photographer's dream. It was sunny and the Bay was so clear you felt like you could touch the city from the Oakland Hills. The kids were off from school, not sure why, but they were. Alistair and I went on a mountain bike ride in Redwood and Chabot. We rode a good 30 miles, going out Redwood east to Pinehurst and Bort. Then riding the single track on the Meadow to the Stone bridge and back. Then up on McDonald, Redwood west and on to Sibley.

We decided to go down Sibley to the other side of Old Tunnel. They recently opened the trail for bicycles and it is a nice bumpy descent. Near the bottom it was quite muddy and there were a few creek crossings filled with water. Quite fun. Then we noticed you could go up the old road into Sibley -no cars, but bikes and pedestrians are OK. Although I had never done it, it sounded better than riding Fish Ranch.

The road goes up for quite a while and then links to the trials that go to the mazes. So we added another 1.5-2.0 miles and a whole bunch of climbing that way.

Today, it was a bit warmer still so I decided to go for a long run. I ran to Montclair and then up Shepherd. I added a little extra at the end for a good 11 miles. I haven't done this run for a while and it showed. By the end of it my legs were quite tired. It is not just the distance, there is a serious amount of climbing too. And some of it is quite steep. It took me about 1.5 hrs. 

I will start working on my running more to prepare for Boston. I would love to run a 3:15 or better, but anything that qualifies me for next year is Ok with me. We'll see how it goes. I will probably go to Europe before Boston and in two weeks I am going to DC. The travel could mess up my schedule, but so could the weather for that matter. We'll see how it goes.

Record temperatures

I think Oakland set a new temperature record every day of the past week. We had temperatures that soared well into the mid-seventies, sometimes topping out at 75-76. That is 9-12 degrees warmer than our previous records. And I don't think we ever had a week of records before.

For anyone who is doubting that the climate is changing, I can put in my 2 cents worth. I have been an avid bike rider since the late 80s with only a few short breaks in between. I remember having an extensive collection of cold-weather gear, including neoprene booties, neoprene gloves, and several jackets and vests. Some of these are still with me, but others either fell apart of old age or were lost in the 1991 hills fire.

In any case, I remember buying neoprene booties every year during the early 90s. The booties are not that expensive and they usually do not last all that long because they tear easily. I remember always wearing them in winter and at times being very cold nonetheless. I also used to have several pairs of tights and a face mask. Towards the end of the decade I stopped buying booties, buying toe covers instead. I also stopped buying heavy tights. Now I find that with few exceptions I can get by with wool socks only (no toe covers) and I never need tights anymore, preferring knickers instead. I have not worn the face mask in over 10 years.

Throughout these years I have ridden consistently and always at the same time of day. Sure there are still chilly mornings when you can use booties and heavy tights, but I used to need them in the middle of the day. And although there has been an occasional cold year -like a few years ago when the citrus crop froze- the overall trend has been towards warmer weather. This is all the more remarkable because I am definitely more cold sensitive now than when I was younger.

I rode 2 hours on my mountain bike on Thursday and 2:40 on the road Friday. On Friday I totaled 2,065 calories and had an NP wattage of 254W with an average of 205. Not a bad ride. Today, 2:30 hours mountain biking, 32 miles with Alistair, a solid ride too.

Bike duathlon

Today I did a bike duathlon of sorts. First I rode my mountain bike for almost two hours, going through Redwood park along the East trail and back; then I rode 22.5 miles on the road with Alistair on my tribike. I just finished putting the last touches on his new Specialized SL and I wanted to make sure he would not be stranded out there with a loose cable -or worse, a loose handlebar.

It was a great day, albeit a bit cold and windy. However, it was sunny all day and we got one of the most spectacular sunsets ever.  I was not alone in noticing this and several people were out taking pictures of the Bay at sunset.

Today was also the first time I tried the Roberts trail that goes down to the East tunnel entrance. It is really a two part trail along the "backside" from Roberts to Fish ranch, but only one part is bike legal. When you ride that part the only back is to turn around or ride up Fish Ranch Rd., a rather steep (and busy) climb. I guess you could also take the freeway to Orinda. It is one of the few bike-legal freeway rides in the area, but very few people actually ride it. It is no fun riding on a freeway with heavy traffic zooming by.

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.

Mountain bike mania

I caught the mountain bike virus. Ever since the ironman I have been reluctant to ride my tribike, preferring the trails instead. I just love the variety and the new challenges. The weather is cooperating too. It is sunny, albeit a bit cold, but overall excellent mountain bike weather. The trails are in great shape, not too dusty and no mud at all. It is heaven.

One thing about Oakland is that it is a true outdoors paradise. With the best weather in the continental US, never too hot or too cold, and some of the nicest parks anywhere, it simply can't be beat. Now if we could just get rid of at least half the cars and the crowds, things would be perfect.

I rode almost 30 miles today. First to Redwood Park, then on the East Bay trail to Pinehurst, then down and up Redwood Rd. to Bort Meadow. Then along the bottom and up the grade to Grass Valley, where I took GoldenRod to the end. A short stretch on Skyline to the park and a return on the West trail to the Redwood gate. Home from there.

I measured the Bort Parking lot to Skyline section on Google Earth and it is about 5.5 miles. All of that is trails. Unfortunately for you hard core guys out there, these are double track or fire-road trails. No single track in the East Bay. We have excellent single track, but none of it is bike-legal except some short stretches in Joaquin Miller Park. Some of my friends don't care but I prefer the fire roads anyways. They are plenty challenging for me as is and they also offer enough variety to go fast and they have some pretty nasty climbs/descents.

I saw very few people today other than some professional dog walkers and the occasional runner. You can always tell the pro-dog folks because they have 6-7 dogs, all different breeds, and they clog up the trail, scrambling their dogs to make room when you call out. 

The funniest thing I saw was this middle-aged guy who was running wearing jeans and a nice white shirt, just a tad short of business casual. He was right there on the trail, away from civilization, and seemed to be enjoying himself. Maybe he never heard of workout clothing?

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.

Recovery

Yesterday we rode 22 mile on our mountain bikes. Alistair is getting faster, especially on the down hills. I have never been a good down hill rider but with my shoulder constantly reminding me of the dangers of the trail, I am slower than ever. Now he has to wait around for me. A role reversal in a mere two years.

Today I used the stationary bike in the gym for 45 minutes. That apparently burned 1,000 calories. It seems high. Then I "ran" nearly 3 miles on the treadmill at the whopping speed of 6.4 mph. Afterwards I iced my calf muscle for 10 minutes. At that speed the injury is just bearable although I sense that I am close to the edge. I can also know that 5 miles would be too much. But every time I can add a little extra so things are moving ahead.

Our Lake Placid slots are in limbo. Something is happening that I don't understand but clearly it is affecting everything. We'll just have to wait and see. I hope things get resolved.

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.

27.5 miles mountain biking

The weather was great today. Quite windy but a northerly desert wind (similar to Santa Ana's) that brings dry hot weather. Alistair and I rode 27 miles on our mountain bikes. I think I rode pretty hard on those rollers yesterday, or else I have some residual effects from the Ironman, because I suffered a bit on the trail.

We rode out Redwood, then to Bort Meadow and up the grade to Grass Valley. Then we returned over Goldenrod, a short stretch on the road, and Redwood once again.

Mountain biking

It's been a while since I rode my mountain bike. I am still hurting from the somersault I took earlier this year, when I hit a pothole in Redwood Park. I ended up with a mild concussion and a type three acromio-clavicular joint separation (AC for short).

The latter was no fun and kept me from exercising in rather unforeseen ways. Obviously swimming was out of the question. But running for example was not good either. It was mighty painful and I could not really find any position for my arm that was even moderately comfortable. Nevertheless I ran the Boston marathon this way and set a new PR. All the while I was thinking, "let's get this over with so I can rest my arm." I never noticed the leg pain.

Even today, more than six months later, the injury still bothers me. I can put my finger on my clavicle and press it down like a piano key. It comes back up too. My arm tends to get tired easily and there are some positions lying down that are distinctly annoying.

The other lasting impression I got from this incident was that anytime I go fast on my mountain bike I get pretty scared. It is very context sensitive. It only happens on my mountain bike and only on trails. It has little to do with the condition of the trail but everything with the speed of travel. My accident happened on a flat section of trail at fairly high speed. It was what you call a freak accident in a place where you least expect it.

Nonetheless, I went out on a ride today and had great fun. The weather was pretty much ideal and the trails were nearly empty. A road block on Skyline prevented me from going to Redwood and so I went to Tilden and Wildcat. Tilden is a more scenic ride but it has steeper and more slippery descents and lots of gravel. Parts of it are also covered in black clay that turns into deep mud in winter (totally unsuitable for riding) and very hard concrete-like bumpy patches in summer.

I really enjoy mountain biking and today was no exception. However I need to be careful now so I don't get injured before the Ironman in November. That means I will probably limit my trail adventures for now.