It's all about the climbs

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

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

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!

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