Report from the Diablo Century...

Fellow Pickles,

While David was busy trying to kill himself, I was riding the Diablo Century. It was fairly uneventful, so I'll try to be brief (or not). The route started at the Walnut Creek JCC (Jewish Community Center) through Clayton (small town on the northern flank of Mt. Diablo) out Morgan Territory Road (very nice remote climb through wooded forest) to Livermore. Lunch stop in Sunol, onward through the 580 corridor to Castro Valley (Yuck!) and back up into the East Bay Regional Park system. Finally through the towns of Moraga, Orinda, Lafayette and returning to the JCC. In all, about 6,000 feet of climbing (nothing too difficult) and mostly pleasant terrain (except for some fairly grim scenery in Castro Valley). The best part of the ride was discovering some really beautiful terrain that I did not know existed. The downside was definitely the horrendous selection of food - both during the ride and post ride. Lunch in Sunol consisted of sun-baked lunch meats and pretzels...gag! Upon my return to the JCC, they quickly and generously offered up the "post-ride BBQ" inside the cafeteria. To my dissapointment, it was some gross looking pre-packaged hamburger patties (no cheese - remember JCC? Jewish dietary laws, Kashrut (Kosher) prohibit the mixing of meat and dairy) and soggy veggie burgers. At least they had piles of salty potato chips - oh, how I love salty potato chips! The nice organizer lady at the door asked me how the ride went (it was version 1.0 of the Diablo Century) and I kindly commented that I enjoyed the ride and appreciated their efforts, but the food sucked. At least I had several baggies of Perpetuem to sustain me for the long ride. In closing, I officially dedicate my day of pedaling to our injured comrade and fellow Cornichon, David. Heal fast and get a new helmet - not baby blue! Patrick

White Tires Can Kill

So I've been wanting to upgrade to white Conti 4000 tires for a while, but they didn't make 'em. I've got white bar tape these days. When I had to get a new saddle, I looked longingly at the white racing saddles at PA Bikes, but if you have to ask how much...

Anyway, the day after I bought a black saddle, I went online and discovered that you now can get white Conti tires. Yay! Now I just need a set of white padded shorts -- you can visualize on your own time.

Put two of the three new tires on yesterday, as part of an overall bike wash. Very slick look. Here's how white tires look after they get their first 40 miles:

Anyhow, today Steve and I went round the West Alpine loop. 28 minutes up OLH, which is a minute better than last time. The new tires rock. Current theory? Heat reflecting from the tires provides extra lift off the pavement. Hard to justify this theory, due to the cold day, but perhaps the effect will be more noticable when it gets hotter. Strangely, going downhill, they are a little slower. Coming down 84 where I can get up to 40, I only hit 35.

Another discovery is that Hammer Gel Tropical Flavor with 25mg Caffiene is pretty damn good, and it'll get you up Alpine road like you have rockets strapped to your saddle. Highly recommended (relished?) by this pickle. Plus, its almost like being in Hawaii.

Coming down Page Mill, on Kirkman Hill, I had a surpise when the air explosively left my front tire, and I was smacked against the asphalt at 25 miles per hour. The penalty seems to be one scuffed front tire, one scuffed bike, and a achey cyclist sitting at home with an iced ass and shoulder. If the shoulder is still very sore tomorrow, then it's off for X-Rays. Zap!

Oh, and a smashed helmet. I guess if there's something that you can be glad to see smashed, its a helmet. The darned thing absorbed a lot of energy, and I can still count and recognize food. Pass me another hat -- I'm still hungry.

Here's hoping that the damage is superficial. TUC is in two weekends and I'm hoping this is not my year of great excuses for missing long rides.

Thanks to Steve for circling back to check my vital signs, and to Julia for picking me up and all that ice, too.

Dr. Pickle

ps. The Death Ride water bottle on Kirkman Hill is mine, if you see it.

UPDATE: A broken clavicle (something hard in the shoulder area) will keep me off my arm for about 4 weeks. Spinning class here I come!

He Who Stands Longest, Stands Best

Hmm, it's been a while since a posting, not due to lack of thoughts while cycling. Here's a specific recount, and maybe another entry is due with a general catch-up.

Last weekend was the Tierra Bella 2009. Steve Folkman, Rick, Rune and I were signed up for the 100 miler.

The Tierra Bella starts out of Gilroy, and goes all around the east and west sides of the valley down there. Avid readers will recall that Rune and I rode it two years ago in a rainstorm. This year, there's a new route, which substitues E. Dunne (to Henry Cow park) for Metcalf road, plus the route is clockwise, instead of counter-clockwise.

The weather was fantastic. There'd been a windstorm a few days before, but during the ride, there was but a gentle breeze, a cool morning, getting pretty warm (hot) by mid-day.

Due to a sad decline in his cat's health, Rick wasn't able to join us at all.

I arranged to pick up Steve and Rune early on the morning of the ride. While loading my bike, I noticed that the saddle was wobbly. I looked at it and decided that the metal rod had come loose from the rear on one side. It looked undesirable, but rideable.

Picked up S&R and we drove down to Gilroy. Took 101, which is apparently 5 minutes slower than 85 from Rune's house. No donuts or coffee.

We started out very smoothly. In fact, we set a very good early pace -- about 22mph, up and around Uvas resevoir and so on. It's fun, because at the beginning, everyone is checking each other out, and searching for just the right paceline to join.

At about 10 or 15 miles in, we stopped at a break area for a pee. I noticed that my saddle had gone from "wobbly" to "broken rail on one side." The rail had snapped at the attachment point to the seatpost. It all seemed to be holding together, so I figured I'd ride as far as I could.

On the next stretch, we were overtaken by a bigger, uber-peloton. We were all together, but spread out. I couldn't see much because of sweat on my eyeglasses. At the next break area, R&S stayed with the peloton, and I stopped, not able to see them or anything else.

Back on the road. shifting my butt a bit to favor the unbroken rail. Another 20 miles, across the valley to the East side. Rest area; back on the road...

Suddenly, a ping as the broken rail falls out of the saddle and goes away. Then the rear of the saddle drops down as the second rail breaks off.

Now, I'm riding along with the floppy padded seat hanging onto the post. Mostly standing up, with little sits now and again. Then ping! and the pad falls off with the other broken rail. I pick up the parts and head on.

It's pretty obvious that I'm not going to ride up E. Dunne at this point. I'm considering doing the other big hill climb, which is a loop around Gilroy Hot Springs. Skipping the hills, it's about 25 miles back to home base.

I could have called for SAG, but I felt that, since I'd started the ride knowing that I had a problem, it was my responsiblity to get back, as long as I was able to do so. In the end, I decided to skip any extra hill climbing, and followed the route back to Gavilan college.

Standing up wasn't too bad, but it got old after a while. I had to go about 25 miles, I think. It's kind of funny, because on Tuesday, riding with Rune up Page Mill, I found standing up much easier.

I ended up hanging around the college from 11 to about 3pm; it was an awesome day, and I had a nice nap, laying in the shade. Plenty of Lasagna and ice cream too. Rune showed up early, because he'd gotten bad directions from one of the support people, and ended up missing the Hot Springs loop.

Looking over the day, Rune remarked that Rick rode 0%, I rode 50%, he rode 75%, and only Steve got the whole 100% ride. Even though I missed out on some great riding, I had a great time, and plan to try again next year.

On Monday, I took the saddle in to PA Bikes. I bought a new Terry, similar to my old one, but with Ti (Titanium?) rails. My buddy Adam called Terry to see if they'd give me any warranty credit, but their best offer was to redo the tubes for $25. Since the seat was pretty worn anyway (I was getting ready to replace it), I decided to pass.

Next long ride? TUC!