Cycling the Peninsula

First Ride of the Season (featuring My Tracks for Android)

2009-04-04T16:34:00.000-07:00

Today I dusted off my bike, inflated the tires and hit the road for the first time this year. Though I've been off the saddle for a few months, I've been hiking regularly, so I was curious how I would hold up. Different muscles need to get in shape, and my heart didn't seem quite ready for the one steep hill I hit on the connection between Quarry road and Mt Eden, but overall I felt pretty good.

A new addition since the last time I bothered posting is having a G1 and the My Tracks application, it is so much easier now to document my route. Here's the route I uploaded to google maps at the end of the ride:

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Here are the stats it recorded:

Total Distance: 23.70 km (14.7 mi)
Total Time: 1:09:16
Moving Time: 1:04:26
Average Speed: 20.61 km/h (12.8 mi/h)
Average Moving Speed: 22.07 km/h (13.7 mi/h)
Max Speed: 46.83 km/h (29.1 mi/h)
Min Elevation: 58 m (191 ft)
Max Elevation: 228 m (748 ft)
Elevation Gain: 320 m (1051 ft)
Max Grade: 13 %
Min Grade: -15 %
Recorded: Sat Apr 04 14:46:13 PDT 2009
Activity type: cycling

Pierce Road, Mt Eden, and Stevens Creek lead through a really beautiful area, I passed horses, a winery, and a bunch of ridiculous houses with private vinyards. I also passed Montebello which in my opinion is the hardest climb in the peninsula, something to look forward to when I'm in better shape later this year.

Catching up

2007-10-27T10:42:00.000-07:00

I've been lazy about posting my rides over the past couple weeks. But I think I'll appreciate this log later in life when I move away from this beautiful area back to flat-as-a-pancake Michigan. Here's the info on the last three rides.

1) A while ago, I climbed Page Mill road and headed up Skyline, similar to the route I took the first time I climbed Page Mill, except I approached from the bottom of Page Mill rather than Moody. It inspired my post about climbs. The climb took me 50:50, with the stretch from the bottom up to where Moody meets taking 15:42.

2) A couple of weeks ago, I took a ride up Old La Honda (25 minutes for the climb), and then down the West side of Old La Honda back.

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It's a great core loop to any ride. OLH is not too much of a ball breaker, but long enough that you feel like you've gotten in a good climb. Descending the west side is one of my favorite stretches in the area. You start by winding your way though a shaded redwood grove before opening up to a sunny valley. On a clear day, you can see the Ocean.

Some stats from that ride:

Distance: 40 miles
Ride time: 2:38
Speed: 15 mph avg, 33.9 mph max

3) Last weekend, I started off towards Arastradero unsure where I'd go. On that route, you get to a fork where you can either head through Arastradero preserve, or climb up Page Mill.

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I decided to climb Page Mill. However, after the short stretch to where it meets Moody, I changed my mind :) At that point, you are usually starting to get tired, and know you are only about a quarter of the way up. I decended Moody instead. At the bottom of Moody, I cut into the ritzy neighborhoods of Los Altos Hills for a short stretch.

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It took me back up into the hills with some nice views of the valley, some amazing houses, and a Ferrari that drove past. After looking at the map, I realize now I could have head further into the neighborhoods and connected with Magdelena; I'll have to try that sometime.

After getting back to Foothill, I headed down towards Los Altos for a while then turned back and headed home. I was getting bored. It's hard to get much distance if you don't head up to Skyline.

Distance: 30 miles
Ride time: 1:45
Speed: 14.4 mph avg, 29.3 mph max
Heart Rate: 145 bpm avg, 185 max
Calories burned: 1483

It's all about the climbs

2007-09-30T16:43:00.000-07:00

When I reflect on a day of riding, the climb I did that day is what sticks out. If my route included no serious climbs of at least 1000 feet, it almost seems like it doesn't count, kind of like going to a Lynyrd Skynyrd concert and having to leave before they play, "Free Bird". In addition to being the most challenging part of a ride, a climb is what brings you to great views and exhilarating descents.

The South Bay Peninsula area I ride each weekend has several famous climbs going up to Skyline boulevard, either from the bay side or from highway 1 on the ocean. The three I've done so far are Kings Mountain Road, Old La Honda, and Page Mill.

Old La Honda and Kings Mountain are both shaded steady climbs with nearly identical grade ascending from different parts of Woodside. On a steady climbs I can pretty much just keep a target heart rate (between 170 and 180) and see how long it takes me.

Old La Honda:

Kings Mountain:

Note that Kings Mountain is about a mile longer.

Compared to Kings and Old La Honda, Page Mill is a bit of a ball breaker. In addition to being mostly unshaded, it has much more severe grade in parts, and extends for 8 miles:

In contrast to the almost perfectly steady grade of Kings and OLH, Page Mill alternates between climbs and small flats / down hills. Some of the climbs are very steep, requiring me to dip into the granny gear, something I manage to avoid on Kings and OLH. The variation requires a little bit more concentration. The very steep parts wipe me out, so when I get a break on the flatter parts, I try to recover, but also attack a bit, since it is possible to get up a fair amount of speed and get a bit of a breeze to cool off. Attack to hard, however, and I risk not making it up the next incline.

I look forward to getting up the balls to go down to the ocean and back, which will open up a few more climbs to try out. Tunitas Creek is the most appealing at the moment.

Old La Honda and Cañada, Pics from Last Week

2007-09-23T20:43:00.001-07:00

Last week I brought my camera with me on a 35 mile ride that included a climb up Old La Honda and a stroll through Arastradero Preserve:

The map view is pretty neat too. These photos might help explain why anyone would want to spend 2-3 hours sitting on a bicycle seat :)

Today I went on pretty much the same route with an extension down to the end of Cañada and back.

The route.

It was between 60 and 70 degrees and overcast with a few sprinkles of rain until the sun burned through while I was on Cañada. I beat my previous best time up Old La Honda by about a minute, making it up in 24:36. As it has gotten cooler, it's been easier. I burn less calories per mile, and drink a lot less water. When I get home, I'm tired, but not completely wiped.

Distance: 49.3 miles
Ride time: 3:15
Speed: 15 mph avg, 31.5 mph max
Heart Rate: 142 bpm avg, 182 max
Calories burned: 2423

Old La Honda

2007-09-09T10:25:00.000-07:00

On Sunday I took a ride through the usual Woodside / Portala Valley area. There were two novel things about the ride though. The first is that I climbed Old La Honda Rd for the first time, and the other was that I rode pretty early in the morning, leaving around 7:45 AM, instead of the usual 11 AM. Old La Honda is a beautiful shaded climb. It has a similar grade to Kings Mountain Road, though about three quarters of a mile shorter. It's a perfect climb for a shorter ride, as it spits you out on Skyline pretty near La Honda, the best way to descend back down. Overall, a nice way to get a solid climb in without being gone for 3+ hours.

The route.

Going early was kind of nice. It was between 55 and 60 most of the ride, which surprisingly didn't feel too cold, and in fact was kind of welcome after last week's insane heat. It was before the sun had burned off the morning fog, making for a beautiful view at the top of the climb where beams of sunlight were starting to peak through. I need to start bringing my camera.

I did the climb in 25:39, which, judging by some times posted by a local cycling organization, isn't particularly impressive given that I would have barely beaten the dude on the unicycle. By the way, I came across that guy last week on Cañada road and forgot to mention it, he was hauling ass! Anyways, I'm glad I found some benchmark times, I'll see how I do in the coming weeks.

Distance: 33.4 miles
Ride time: 2:13
Speed: 15.0 mph avg, 32.5 mph max
Heart Rate: 147 bpm avg, 179 max
Calories burned: 1815

O Cañada!

2007-09-02T20:03:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday Matt and I wanted to go for a long ride, but wanted to avoid going up to Skyline to avoid the crazy holiday weekend traffic. To get the distance, we basically took the route from the week before through Woodside and Portola Valley and extended it by going all the way down Cañada (according to everyone around here, pronounced 'ken-yada') and back, and then up Page Mill and back down Moody.

The route.

I liked going down Cañada well enough, it was nice to go right past the Crystal Springs reservoir I usually go by in my car on the way to Half Moon Bay. Plus, on Sunday's the park service closes down a stretch of it from cars.

Too Hot For Hills

It was a really hot day, in the high 90s and low 100s. For some reason, I was feeling pretty good though about 35 miles, which is why when we reached the Arastradaro and Page Mill intersection, I agreed to go up Page Mill to Moody rather than simply heading home down Arastradaro. Bad idea. Though I think going up Page Mill then down Moody is easier than the other way around since Moody rd is so steep, it was enough to do me in on Sunday. Part of the reason 100 degrees is tolerable when cycling is I'm usually going between 15 and 20 mph, and the breeze keeps me somewhat cool. When climbing a hill at 5-6 mph, not so much. And of course that was the hottest part of the ride, topping out at 108! I didn't realize how pooped I was until I got to the top and got off my bike, at which point I felt kind of dizzy. The piss warm water in my bottles provided little comfort. I asked Matt how much he would have to be paid to try to climb up the rest of Page Mill, and he thought for a moment before uttering, "a million dollars."

Luckily, it was mostly down hill from there to get home, and after 20 minutes with a bag of frozen peas under my neck laying in front of the air conditioner, I was feeling OK. I'll have to remember though not to do any sort of climbing when it's 100 out.

Distance: 51.1 miles
Ride time: 3:20
Wall time: 4:00
Speed: 15.2 mph avg, 35.4 mph max
Heart Rate: 148 bpm avg, 187 max
Calories burned: 2629

woodside / portola valley / arastradero loop

2007-08-26T18:18:00.000-07:00

I'm planning on going for a ride tomorrow and remembered I hadn't even logged the ride from last Sunday.

the route

Though this loop doesn't have any steep climbs, I noticed the stretch up Sand Hill and on Portola road to Alpine were both tough nonetheless.

Distance: 29 miles
Ride time: 1:47
Speed: 16.2 mph avg, 34.7 mph max
Heart Rate: 141 bpm avg, 172 max
Calories burned: 1310

Moody Again

2007-08-26T11:25:00.000-07:00

Friday after work I did the ol' Moody Road loop again, with Wanli this time. The climb took me 14:50 this time, 10 seconds slower than the last. Wanli was waiting for me patiently at the top :) He rides to work 30 miles each way 3 times a week (including Friday; joining me was apparently a fun little detour for him on his way back to San Mateo), so I don't think I'll be keeping up with him any time soon.

The stats:

Distance: 24.3 miles
Ride time: 1:29
Speed: 16.3 mph avg, 35 mph max
Heart Rate: 141 bpm avg, 180 max
Calories burned: 1188

Moody revisited

2007-08-22T17:18:00.000-07:00

I was on vacation last week, and did the same Moody Road loop as I have before just before leaving.

I didn't bother jotting down all the stats, but I do remember I did the climb in 14:40, a modest improvement over the previous 16 minutes.

West Side of Old La Honda

2007-08-03T19:13:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I rode with friends Matt and Wanli on a beautiful loop that started up Kings Mountain Road, continued down La Honda on to the west side of Old La Honda road, which we climbed back up to Skyline. As I rode to meet up with them in Woodside, I was getting nervous about climbing Kings Mountain, remembering how exhausted I was the last time I did it. However, once we started going up, I was struck by how much easier it was this time. It wasn't actually easy, but my heart rate was under control (under 170 most of the way up), and I completed it in 32 minutes, about 5 full minutes faster that a few weeks back. I think Page Mill was good preparation. Kings Mountain road is a steady challenging climb, but has only a few very steep parts, and is mostly in the shade. Page Mill has probably ten or more standing-up-while-in-the-granny-gear inducing stretches, and leaves you mostly out to roast under the sun. Anyways, I'm excited that Kings Mountain isn't so daunting any more, it's such a beautiful way to get up to Skyline.

The route.

Going up the west side of Old La Honda was awesome. It's a narrow winding road with barely any traffic that leads through redwood forests and opens up now and then to give views down towards the ocean (though some fog prevented me from seeing all the way). When we got back up to Skyline, I was still feeling good. However, by the time we descended Portola Road and got to Alpine, I was getting damn tired, and knew it was time to head home (still about 10 miles left at that point). Matt and Wanli hadn't had enough, so they split off and climbed Alpine to where it dead ends for fun, talk about maniacs! Anyways, by the time I was almost home, my odometer was at 49.5 miles, and I was determined to make it to 50, and circled the block.

The Stats:

Distance: 50.1 miles
Ride time: 3:26
Wall time: 4:15
Speed: 14.5 mph avg, 36.3 mph max
Heart Rate: 151 bpm avg, 185 max
Calories burned: 3044

Looping around Woodside

2007-07-29T21:37:00.000-07:00

I took a windy, backtracking loop through Woodside today. I went with my friend Yaron who hadn't biked in a month, so we took it a little easy.

The route.

The 'calories burned' was pretty low for a 35 mile ride, I can't tell if that's because I was riding a little slower, or because I updated the settings with my latest improved resting heart rate. Either way, I think the calories burned is kinda bullshit :) Still worth tracking I suppose. I think my brother is right in suggesting the measurement is, "ordinal, not cardinal" (at least I think, after looking up both words :)

The stats:

Distance: 35 miles
Ride time: 2:17
Speed: 15.5 mph avg, 34.4 mph max
Heart Rate: 141 bpm avg, 183 max
Calories burned: 1590

Moody Road Loop

2007-07-26T12:29:00.000-07:00

I took mid-day loop that included a 2.5 mile long 180m climb up Moody rd. I decided to standardize the climb as being from Altamount Rd so I can track my progress. This time I did it in 16 minutes. I also did it on Saturday, but didn't keep track of that part of the climb as I continued up Page Mill. This time I went down Page Mill to Arastradero which at which point I joined up with a loop I did a couple weeks ago.

The route.

I went the wrong way on Alpine for about a mile before realizing and turning around.

The stats:

Distance: 26 miles
Ride time: 1:35
Speed: 16.1 mph avg, 31.5 mph max
Heart Rate: 154 bpm avg, 182 max
Calories burned: 1338

Up Page Mill

2007-07-21T15:34:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I climbed Page Mill Road for the first time. Going from Foothill up Moody Rd to the base of the climb was a mini-challenge in itself, with about 190m of elevation change. But man, Page Mill just keeps going! It took about 45 minutes to make it through the 6 miles, going up about 400m. Though gentler slope overall than the 4 mile, 500m climb up Kings Mountain Last weekend, parts of Page Mill are really steep, particularly the first couple of miles. It featured less shade than Kings Mountain too, so while I was limping along at 5 miles an hour, there was no breeze to cool me off. The views were stunning though, opening up to the bay at parts.

The reward of the climb was getting up to Skyline and taking it northwest to La Honda. It was a clear day, and at times I could look to my left and see the Pacific ocean, and to my right and see the bay. A gentle downhill most of the way too. I liked it even more than coming the other way from Kings Mountain last weekend.

After descending La Honda, I finished the ride by going through Woodside and coming back to Foothill via Sandhill.

The route.

I wasn't as wiped this time. After last weekends ride I ended up with a headache that lasted on and off through mid-week. I was careful to drink a lot of water throughout the rest of the day, which probably made the difference.

The stats:

Distance: 42 miles
Ride time: 2:50
Speed: 14.6 mph avg, 33.1 mph max
Heart Rate: 157 bpm avg, 183 max
Calories burned: 2504

Sandhill > Portola > Arastradaro Loop

2007-07-19T18:02:00.000-07:00

Today I took a similar loop as last Thursday's, but in reverse, and up Sandhill instead of Alpine. Taking Sandhill ended up being a mistake since there was road construction for the first couple of miles. I had to stop after the construction to pick tar off my tires. Yuck!

The route (as usual, excluding some details of to and from my apt).

I got lost for a bit by making a right on Portola instead of realizing that Sandhill turns into it. Once I hit La Honda, I realized what happened. I considered climbing La Honda, but thought better of it given it was in the middle of a work day, so I turned around.

I really like the Woodside / Portola Valley area, there are so many variations. I think the best part today was the stretch on Arastradero between Alpine and 280 through the preserve.

The stats:

Distance: 26 miles
Ride time: 1:41
Speed: 15.4 mph avg, 36 mph max
Heart Rate: 150 bpm avg, 175 max
Calories burned: 1442

Climbing Kings Mountain Road

2007-07-15T20:29:00.000-07:00

Today was my first climb up Kings Mountain Road, a beautiful but ball busting 4 mile climb from Woodside rd to Skyline blvd. I was happy to have made it the whole way without stopping, even though I had to resort to the granny gear for the last mile. I made it up in 37 minutes. It was quite challenging, but so beautiful. In a couple of places the view opens up to the entire valley, where I could see Shoreline Amphitheater and Stanford. Otherwise, it was a windy road through towering redwoods. It was 95 degrees at the beginning of the climb, but thankfully cooled to 85 by the top.

The route.

One thing I noticed today is that I'm not a big fan of steep downhills. I don't feel very comfortable going any faster than 30mph on downhills, especially when there are cars trying to pass. So the down hill following the climb was a nice break in some ways, but also a little frustrating in that I wasn't pedaling at all (my legs not staying warmed up), while my hands got tired from clenching the breaks.

It was my longest ride yet. It dawned on me that in terms of physical excertion, cycling has a lot in common with back packing; arduous and plodding, yet not so intense that you can't do it for over three hours without destroying your body (I can't imagine going for a 3 hour run for instance).

The hill climb reminded me of running though. My heart rate spiked from 155 to 175 for the length of the climb; about what it is when I run. So it seemed like stopping for a 4-5 mile run in the middle of a usual long ride. Needless to say, I'm exhausted, but in kind of a good way. I feel a lot like I do when I'm on backpacking trips after a long day.

The Stats:

Distance: 48 miles
Ride time: 3:24
Speed: 14.1 mph avg, 33.5 mph max
Heart Rate: 153 bpm avg, 182 max
Calories burned: 2763

Midweek Arastradero loop

2007-07-13T07:44:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I rode up Arastradero, and took Alpine road back down to foothill.

the route (again, excluding some boring details of getting to/fro my apt).

I've taken this route before in the reverse direction, and it seemed harder this time. I think that's because the climb up Arastradero is steeper than Alpine, and closer to the beginning of the ride. When going the reverse route, it is a longer, gentler climb up Alpine, followed by a steeper downhill on Arastradero. I also think I prefer to have a warm up on a flatter road like foothill to get started.

The Stats:

Distance: 19 miles
Ride time: 1:15
Speed: 15.2 mph avg, 30.3 mph max
Heart Rate: 146 bpm avg, 175 max
Calories burned: 1065

Interesting that my heart rate average and max is exactly the same from last Saturday's ride... if that happens again, I'm going to start wondering about my heart rate monitor :)

First day with new bike

2007-07-07T22:43:00.000-07:00

Over the past few months I've been learning more about cycling, and going on progressively longer and cooler rides with a mountain bike fitted with semi road tires and some plastic foot straps (both make a huge difference). My friend Matt, who's been cycling for years, has been kind enough to take me under his wing and show me a lot of great rides in the Silicon Valley peninsula area, as well as a lot of information about bicycle maintenance and cycling techniques.

This past week I got my first real road bike, a 2007 Trek Madone SL 5.2 (I know, a bit overkill, but I got a great deal since the 2008 models were redesigned), and thought it would be fun to start keeping track of my rides. Here we go!

Today Matt lead us on a nice loop through Portola Valley, including a beautiful side track down Olive Lane. Previously I had taken Whiskey Hill Rd directly to Portola, but this time we road up Cañada, made a left on Olive Hill as a way to meander back to Portola; a beautiful detour! As usual, the weather was great (80 degrees and sunny), and the air filled with the aroma of eucalyptus trees.

Here's the route (excluding some details of getting to and from house).

The new bike was incredible: I was coasting at 30 mph down hills, and gliding at 20mph on the flats without a ton of effort (both incomprehensible on my mountain bike). Having real pedals that clip directly into my shoes makes a huge difference too. I no longer fear my feet flailing off my pedals when hitting a bump on downhills, and can get a lot more out of each pedal stroke by pulling upward and pushing backwards with my feet.

The Stats:

Distance: 36 miles
Ride time: 2:28
Speed: 14.8 mph avg, 33.8 mph max
Heart Rate: 146 bpm avg, 175 max
Calories burned (according to my heart rate monitor): 2011