That Dorky Mirror Saved My Life

OK, I admit that this is a misleading headline.  I was skimming through some news articles and started reading one where the headline had little to do with the article’s contents.  I thought I would try the eye drawing trick…

Jonathan and Jim Just Before Iowa Hill

I have been cycling with a rear-view mirror for several years and I believe it is one of the best safety enhancements I use while cycling.  The other day, another rider and I had fallen off the back of the main group by a few hundred meters.  I was doing everything I could to catch back up and was on a slight descent that let me carry some good speed.  A left turn was approaching and I was fixated on the approach because I would be going fast and I was looking out for debris in the turn.

While I was absorbed with making the turn and catching back up with the main group, I hadn’t realized a car was approaching from behind (I didn’t hear it) and it was about to pass me.  As I was about to start the turn I did a routine check by glancing in my rear-view mirror and spotted the car. Fortunately, I have developed a habit of checking my mirror when turning.

If I had not had that mirror, I doubt I would have looked over my shoulder and noticed the car.   The result would have been a bad crash and it would have been my fault.  So yeah, that dorky mirror helped me avoid an accident.

Many riders use a mirror.  There are ones that mount on sunglasses (what I use), helmet mounted and even ones that mount on the end of your handlebars.  I prefer the first two as I can move my head left to right and scan a wide area behind me.

The mirror provides a major boost to situational awareness.  The 180 degrees of view behind you is now available and can provide a greater insight to your ride environment..  You can see cars approaching, evaluate how tight the riders behind you are aligned and maybe even gain a little satisfaction in watching a few riders drop behind you on a climb. On the rare times I forget my mirror, I feel awkward and partially blind.

I had the opportunity to talk to Chris Mumma, one of the most prolific riders in Cycle Folsom, about his experience with a mirror. Chris says, "a mirror has become an integral part of my cycling and I feel naked without it."  After a review of our shared experiences with a mirror, he talked of an instance where the mirror was invaluable in preventing a accident.  Chris added, "I was riding a performance ride and we were overtaking a slower rider (not a Cycle Folsom rider) and a rider behind me neglected to follow the paceline, attempting to pass on the left into traffic. Fortunately, I was able to spot him before we collided. "

Give a mirror a try.  It might not "look pro", but it will open up your range of views and increase your situational awareness.

Death Ride Tune Up

Joe and Enrico applying bar tape

As the Death Ride nears, a group of Cycle Folsom's riders got together to give their bikes a final tune up to make sure their rides were in top working order.

Most of the work was similar - brake/shifter cable replacement and new chain installation.

Cable replacement takes some time and patience - especially when the cables are internally routed. This job includes:

1. Replacing front and rear brake cables and housings.
2. Replacing front and rear derailleur cables and housings.
3. Adjusting the brakes
4. Adjusting all shifting



Jonathan's red/while/black cable color

5. Replacing bar tape

Joe was a great help with the bar tape with his technique of starting on the top and winding it "backwards".  This gives a cleaner look to the tape and seems more secure.

Jonathan learned the hard way that regular cable replacement is important to avoid snapping a cable during a ride.  When a rear derailleur cable breaks, the only option is the smallest cog. During the Carson Pass Train for the Tours (TftT) ride, he lost his rear derailleur cable at mile 73. Fortunately, the last 27 miles were mostly a descent and he was able to finish the ride.

Jim's Felt getting new cables 

I learned this lesson as well about a year ago when my derailleur cable snapped during a ride.  I now replace my cables every 6 months.

This is actually very inexpensive.  A cable kit costs around $40 and new bar tape is about $20.

Vu working on his bike

Chain replacement is important in ensuring the drive train doesn't wear prematurely.  As the chain stretches, it can cause the cassette and chainrings on the crank to wear out more quickly.  In addition, a stretched chain makes for a degraded shifting response.

A new chain is about $40 and should be replaced when worn.  There is a simple tool that measures chain stretch.

To replace a chain, the easiest method is to simply remove the old chain with a chain breaker and lay the new and old chains side by side on the floor.  This will give you the chain length for removing the excess links on the new chain. Once trimmed, the chain is routed and a master pin is installed to secure the chain.

Eric installing a new chain

A preventative maintenance plan for your bike is a great way to avoid problems and keep your bike in top running condition. You can learn a lot of the techniques from youtube videos. GCN has a great set of maintenance videos that will give you detailed step by step instructions. A couple of inexpensive tools will go a long way toward enabling you to do your own maintenance.  This will also save a lot of time and money.

If you are considering doing your own work on your bike, Cycle Folsom has many members who are excellent mechanics and can help you with your efforts.  Be sure to solicit their advice.

What Does It Take To Be A Racer

The Tour De France is just around the corner and just a month ago we were able to experience the Amgen Tour of California in our own home town.  Seeing these amazing riders compete in such an epic way may fuel your own thoughts about taking your cycling to a new level - racing.  What would it be like to be a racer?  How do you start racing?  Cycle Folsom's Aaron Terrazas is a racer on Team Revolutions and has given us some great insight into these questions.

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What Does It Take To Be A Racer by Aaron Terrazas

I had no real aspirations to become a racer when I first started road biking, I just wanted to lose weight, get fit and not get dropped. As my fitness increased I began to think about racing; it looked fun and terrifying. I started doing some research, talked to friends, read articles, watched YouTube videos and thought, "why not try it, if I don't like it, I can always quit".

So what steps do you need to take to get into racing? What does it take to get started and be competitive?

Get a Coach

Regardless of how serious you intend to be, I would recommend getting a coach. Having a coach to focus your training and guide you. A coach will not only help you improve your fitness, they will also provide you with direction and focus during your race season. Without direction, folks tend to flounder, and drop out.

Work On Your Fitness

Spend the winter season training, working on your fitness and learning as much as you can. I find that folks who don't train before the race season, tend not to last long in racing because they get discouraged after a few races. There is so much to learn, and while the level of fitness among racers various greatly, the serious racers are on a completely different level of fitness than your average / above average club rider. 

Find a Team

It is very important to have a group you can connect with, work with and be mentored by. When you race, it's very difficult to win a race on your own, unless it's a very small field. Bike racing is a team sport, with strategies, race plans, lead out trains, domestiques, climbers, sprinters, and each serves a role based on the type of race. 

Get Your Race License

You need to register and get a license to race. Get your USA Cycling license for the season: https://www.usacycling.org

Racing Categories

The women's racing categories start at Cat 4 and go up to Cat 1.

The men's racing categories start at Cat 5 and go up to Cat 1. 

There are several different types of groups for each category. Juniors (kids), Cat 1,2,3,4,5 (19-34) and Masters 35+, Masters 45+, and Masters 55+. The non-masters categories are the categories that can go pro (Cat 1).

Beginner Race Program

Every Sunday morning through the month of January,  before race season officially begins, classes for road racing are provided for beginning racers called the Early Bird Races or Beginning Racer Program (BRP). There are various classes provided throughout the state, but the closest one to us is in Fremont. Instructors run through various skills you will need to know for racing like sprinting, cornering, bike handling and more. Instructors will take you through drills and at the end of the class you will get to race a Crit for 20 minutes. Each class with a race is worth 2 points which count towards your 10 upgrade points to get out of Cat 5 to Cat 4.

These classes really are essential if you plan to race.

Do You Need a Race Bike

If you don't have a great racing bike, it is ok, try racing out first before you invest in a good race bike. Racing could also be a great excuse to get a new bike. If you do want to buy a race bike, here are a few things to consider.

Aerobikes are great for crits and flat races, but they tend to drop anchor on rollers and climbs, and many do not corner as well as an all round light race road bike that handles well, responds great on climbs and sprints. Consider purchasing wheels specifically for racing that you can use for all of you races (have a separate pair for training). I have a set of tubular all carbon 50s that I use only for racing, anything deeper would probably not be as great for a climbing race.

Types of Races

Criterium Races (Crits) 

These are fast paced short lap, usually 1/2 mile to 1 mile in length, with multiple laps around a closed small circuit within a 20-40 minute period. These are great for strong riders who might not have the fitness for a long endurance road race, are great sprinters or like to be in the red as riders attack and maneuver for position. Crits are known for bunch sprints, tight corners and crashes (crashes will happen in all race types).

Circuit Races

These are basically the medium between a road race and a Crit, where you race a longer lap of several miles for an hour or more several times. Usually these are not as fast as crits.

Road Race

These are the longer endurance races, which can be longer circuits of 4-9 miles; these are done several times (40+ miles). The duration of these races differ from race to race and category to category.

Time Trial (TT)

These are solo races on a time trial bike (TT). The duration can range from 6 - 20+ miles. These are basically, how fast can you go for 20-40 minutes.

Stage Race

These are typically a series of races over a few days that can have a combination of all the different race types.

Winning Races

Bike racing is one of the few sports where most people never win or podium. There are pros who spend their entire careers never having won a race because their jobs are to support their team leader. So why race?

Racing can be challenging, scary, exhausting, fun and require dedication of time and focus. Most of us who are older are certainly not going to make it to be pros or ride in any world tours, so racing is just something we do on the weekends because we love cycling, competition and pushing ourselves. Most of us don't take it too seriously (some do), and let's face it, we aren't getting paid or sponsored, at least not those of us who are Masters (older), so the most important thing it to just have fun.

A Tale of Two Rides

Yesterday, we completed the 10^th and final century ride in the Train for the Tours (TftT) series for 2016.  This one was an out and back from Sly Park to Carson Pass and included more than 10,000' of climbing, riding at altitudes above 7,500’ for much of the ride and some tough climbs like Carson Pass and Mormon Emigrant.  A tough ride by any measure.

I did this ride last year and I thought it would be interesting to compare my experiences since they were so different.  Last year, I thought the ride was a brutal experience.  I was totally exhausted and wiped out at the conclusion.  This year I felt good the entire ride and had "gas in the tank" at the end. 

Why the difference?

Thanks to the Garmin Edge and Strava, I can compare statistics.

The differences between the two rides are very minor.  Moving time, average speed, cadence, and average heart rate are about the same.

The only significant differences are the ride temperature and overall ride elapsed time.  The temperature was 7 degrees cooler and I finished the ride 20+ minutes faster.

It looks like statistics do not tell the full story.  What about my ride game plan?

This ride I tried a few minor changes to my approach to a long endurance ride.  I didn't want to make any big changes as I thought it was a little too close to the Death Ride to make any significant changes.  But, I did have a few areas I thought warranted some "tweaks".

First, I had been having problems drinking fluids during the latter part of the ride.  I have been using electrolyte tablets such as Nuun and Gu. However, I have been getting so absolutely sick of the taste, that I dreaded drinking.  This was further exacerbated when the fluids got warm.

So, I decided to try using Endurolytes (electrolyte pills) and plain water when I was tired of the taste.  This was an amazing improvement.  I was drinking delicious cold water in the last half of the ride as if it were an ice cold beer at a baseball game.  Swallowing a couple of pills was easy when chased by the ice cold water.

Secondly, I tried eating in a snack mode the whole ride.  I added a small frame bag to my top tube where I had a mix of dried fruits, pistachios and seeds.  This allowed for easy access where I could simply reach down and grab a small portion as I was riding.  I also put some oranges with the SAG vehicle as I find oranges clear out that "dry mouth" feeling when breathing hard for long periods.

This approach also helped the 3rd of my ride tweaks - the minimal stop.  I noticed more experienced riders skipping breaks or making very quick stops.  I then looked at many of my rides and I noticed my break times seemed excessive.  Last year's Death Ride, for example, I had nearly 3 hours in non-riding time. My TftT breaks were about an hour.  I am all for breaks, but I don't seem to get much benefit after a few minutes.  I focused on replenishing my water, eating a few orange slices and then getting back on the bike - less than 5 minutes.  Since I was eating while riding, I didn't need to worry about eating during the breaks.  On this ride I had about 20 minutes worth of breaks (4 minutes per break) - 20 minutes below last year's net break time.

Finally, I focused on a manageable and steady pace.  I normally ride at a steady pace, but I made an extra effort to have gas at the end and thus be even more conservative in the beginning of the ride.  As one of the heaviest riders in CF, hills are especially challenging and I have to be careful not to burn out on a big climb. I may be slow, but I figured I would be better off minimizing total time vs. reducing just the ride time.  This also worked well.  Last year, I felt very good on the early Mormon Emigrant climb, but the Carson and Silver Lake (Tragedy Spring Rd) climbs were miserable. Brutal even.  I had to stop repeatedly to recover.  This year, the climbs were hard, but I only stopped once when some other riders were stopped as well.  Last year's "Tragedy Climb" was surprisingly easier. When I finished the ride, I felt good.  Tired, but not wiped out or exhausted.

Overall, I was extremely happy with the ride.  From a perceived difficulty perspective, I would rate the Iowa Hill, Loon Lake, and Rainbow and Roses rides as harder than this one.

I learned a few valuable lessons.  First, always be open to improvement.  While my changes were seemingly minor and the ride statistics were nearly identical, my perceived difficulty was dramatically improved.  Second, stick with your plan.  I could see riders not far ahead of me and I could have caught up.  Instead I stuck to my planned pace and caught up due to my faster breaks and ended up finishing ahead of about a half dozen other riders who actually had faster average moving speeds, but used more and longer breaks.

The Death Ride is less than two weeks away and I have a plan I think will work well.  I think I am ready!

  

Riders - Know Your Route

Several weeks ago, I was with a group riding a route that used very common roads.  I noticed the rider(s) in front looking back occasionally and asking "which way?"  We weren't in a remote area or on an unusual route by any means.  They clearly didn't know the route.  After a short while, I spent my time up front to ensure we took all the right turns and avoid any "bonus miles".

Confession coming...  Toward the end of this ride, a little mean streak surfaced and I bet a fellow ride leader riding beside me that the rider up front was going to miss the turn. When the turn approached, it seemed as if he was going to take it, but then kept riding straight.  Here is where I should have yelled "RIGHT". Instead, I silently pointed the right turn and made the turn with the remainder of the group and let the "wrong way riders" figure out they goofed.

While winning a bet is always nice; this scenario, unfortunately, is actually all too common.  So why is it important to know the route?

First, and foremost, knowing the route is a matter of safety. If you are up front and don't know the route, you can endanger the riders behind you. I have witnessed several instances where a rider up front doesn't know what to do when a navigation choice is required.  All of a sudden they are slowing and weaving out of their line while they try to find out what to do.  The riders behind are then at risk of potentially running into the front rider or moving too far into the road.

Second confession... This happened to me once and I was the cause of a minor incident with one of the riders behind me crashing. Fortunately it was a minor incident and the rider and bike were OK.  In this case I knew the route, but there was construction and I didn't recognize the street until too late and I tried to make the turn anyway.  I slowed unexpectedly and caused a rider behind me to overlap wheels and fall.

Secondly, knowing the route is important should you end up riding on your own.  If you get dropped or even have a mechanical issue, you may find yourself separated from the group.  You should know the route so you can safely get home or catch back up to the group at a break stop.  Knowing the route may also allow you to take a shortcut to get back with the group.  Some riders are very skilled in using shortcuts to avoid a challenging part of the ride and still remain with the group for large portions of the ride.

In a later post I will talk about using electronic devices like a Garmin Edge cycling computer where it will display the route, cue sheet, and provide turn reminders. I have a Garmin Edge 520 and I love it. These devices are amazing and a great asset to a ride.  However, they are not a substitute for knowing the route.  I consider them to be an enhancement or an added tool for following the route.

Cycle Folsom makes it very easy to learn the route.  Every meetup notice has a Ride With GPS route linked that can be reviewed.  If you do not have an account, simply sign up - it is free.  Then follow the link in the meetup ride description and you can examine the ride.  I like to click through the cue sheet as this will show me all the turns.  I will also note the planned break location(s) and any climbs.

Ride leaders take the effort to provide a safe and well planned ride.  Part of that effort is creating a route and making it available to all riders in advance of the ride start.  Show them some courtesy in learning the route and doing your part to ride safely.

Fox 'n Hound, Cameron Park

"Chase or be chased" is one of the Cycle Folsom motto's. For this ride, the Peloton group were the sly foxes, and us Performance riders would be the hungry hounds trying to chase them down. I did the math. It would be nearly impossible to catch the foxes with their 30 minute lead over a relatively short route (48 miles) through the foothills. If they averaged 16 mph, the Performance hounds would have to average a full 4 mph faster to get some fox legs for brunch.

This was a tough ride with lots of climbing for a fox 'n hound. First, just to warm up the legs, we headed up Auburn Folsom and then climbed Folsom Lake crossing. Next stop, Beatty, then Serrano I & II to be topped off with a little bit of icing called Hollow Oak. And if that wasn't enough, the road would continue to tilt upwards into Cameron Park, and then skyward on Meder. Now there is new, smooth pavement on Deer Valley, but I'm not sure if it made the climbing any easier. As always, the run in on Green Valley would be the best and fastest part of the ride.

Patrick, Jeremy, & Oz had me on the rivet most of the way. Unfortunately, Luis dropped off our group up Serrano. Us hungry hounds did all we could to try and out fox the Peloton foxes, like skip all the water stops, but we came up relatively empty. We caught Joel on Green Valley right at Salmon Falls, but this was his first ride back in about a month (tough day to get back in the swing of things). We got a little strung out on Green Valley & East Natoma, but by the light at Auburn Folsom Rd, we were gruppo compacto. I thought I got a jump on the group at the Auburn-Folsom Rd sprint, but Jeremy pulled Patrick and Oz up to me and Oz pimped me at the line. Eventually, the Performance hounds would finish about 5 minutes in arrears of the Peloton foxes. The Peloton group stopped for about 10 min for water; the Performance group was attacking through the feed zones for every second! Great ride everyone! I was totally spent.

Performance (Brian) ride stats: 46 miles, 2:34 ride time, 17.7 mph ave, elev. gain 3,900ft.
Peloton (Kevin) ride stats: 46 miles, 2:50 ride time, 16.5 mph ave, elev. gain 3,900 ft.

Tuesday Climbing Ride

I think we all had a great ride Tues night! The route was cut a little short due to the waning daylight, but what we lacked in distance and climbing was made up with speed.

We all rolled out of Folsom on time. I really only had one goal for the night even though the “Big Dogs” RSVPed on the Meetup site: me, I just wanted to keep the whole group together until we got onto Green Valley (mile 4.5). It’s no fun to blow the group apart before the ride really even begins. So, for me, the ride was a success when we all lined up at the red light and then rolled onto Green Valley on the green double file. However, I knew things would blow apart once we turned onto Sophia.

Sure enough, on the first little climb up Sophia to Elmores, all the Big Dogs began to amass at the front. Once we turned onto the slopes of Elmores, the splits were made that mainly stood for the following 18 miles. I tried to follow the wheels of Steve, Curt, Jeff, Tom, and Frank, but I totally red-lined my heart rate and I was gasping for air and had a cramp in my side by the time I got to Brittany. Chad flew past me with no mercy; no chance to catch a wheel. The next thing I knew I was in Purgatory on El Dorado Hills Blvd: cyclists getting smaller on the horizon in front of me, and no one visible behind me! That’s when I had to let my ego go and focus on a quick recovery on the false flats of EDH and get ready for the queen climb of the night, Ridgeview.

This is what I suspect happened on Ridgeview up the road from me: Curt and Steve put the hammer down and rode up the steep slope like they had wings. Chad bridged up to either Frank or Tom, and then regrouped with Jeff, so they had a group 4 strong. But this is where things get a little gray. Somehow, after suffering up Ridgeview, but bombing Powers & Beatty (51 mph), and sneaking a short cut to Sophia (I didn’t go around the park; I admit it!), the next cyclists I see are Steve & Curt soft pedaling on Sophia. I ain’t stupid! You bet on boogied on over and caught onto their wheels! It sounds like Jeff et al. took the longer route down Ridgeview to Powers and added a little more distance and climbing. Somehow I leapfrogged over them, but they were all the stronger riders. I’m just a sneak, a cheater, and had good luck!

In arrears, Patrick & Tim (riding his TT bike on a climbing ride!) were working together as a small group, Kevin was riding solo, but in no way throwing in the towel, and Stan & Krysta were helping each other out.

I yo-yoed off the back of the Steve & Curt Fright Train, but more or less hung with them, probably because they had to stop for the lights on Iron Point. I was surprised we didn’t get caught by Jeff, Frank, Tom, & Chad; I kept looking over my shoulder for the rest of the night!

We all rolled back into the start around 7:05 -7:15 with smiles on our faces!

Folsom Lake Loop

The plan for the Folsom Lake Loop ride was stated this way in brief: "Both the Peloton and the Performance groups will be doing this ride together. The plan for the Performance group ride leaders is to keep this ride mellow and provide some pacing, encouragement, & coaching for Peloton riders should they want it. However, once on Auburn-Folsom Rd, I suspect the deck will get reshuffled and the real poker will begin." About 40 cyclists showed up for the ride!

I ended up sweeping the route and riding with the most important folks on the ride, my partner, Krysta, and a friend from work, Roxanne. After mile 9 on Salmon Falls Rd, we never saw the main group again, so I've asked the other ride leaders from the Performance & Peloton groups to give their two bits. My ride stats: 54 miles in a ride time of 3:26, for an average speed of 15 mph, and about 4100 ft of climbing, with an average heart rate of 139 bpm.

Performance ride leader Phil says:
After checking the CF site one last time at home I rolled to meet up at Karen's Bakery by 8am. Made the last turn into the parking lot and was greeted by a HUGE turnout of riders [something close to 40 cyclists, ed.]. After descending and crossing Salmon Falls Bridge the road turned up. I rode to the Rhino riding with Stan and a rider from out of town [Jim G.]. We reached the Rhino and caught up with Kevin who was taking on nutrition. Kevin you were climbing great today. The group briefly discussed waiting for the group behind us, but no one knew how far back they were. We took a few sips of water and decided to ride on to Pilot Hill.

The front group was still at Pilot Hill when we rolled in. We replenished our water, took in some nutrition, and rolled out in a large group towards Cool. I sat in around 5th-6th and waited patiently for the city limit sign to come into view. I decided at 300 meters or so to put in an all out sprint to the line. I surprised the group and no one took up a chase [the sprint wasn't announced, so Phil was sprinting against the wind (ed.)]. The group rolled right through Cool without stopping, to work our way to the descent into the Am. River confluence. I ramped up the downhill speed out front, but caught up to a pickup and two cars that took my advantage away. Big Ring Jeff caught up with me and the cars, & took the inside line. This was a great move by Jeff as the shoulder widened at the bottom, Jeff coasted in no contest for the county line points! [This sprint was announced.] I stopped and took some pictures of a few riders at the start of the climb up Old Forrest Hill Road. In the background you see the new bridge that we will cross shortly on the way into Auburn.

I was one of the last riders in this group to top the Old Forrest Hill climb. A group had just rolled out and I had to put in some effort to catch them. I caught up and decided to pass them and get out front for the descent down to cross Forrest Hill Bridge. Almost every rider passed me on this last climb up to Auburn. A few of us caught up with a group at the left turn light. We rolled on through Auburn to Auburn-Folsom Road. I took the front and upped the effort a few watts climbing the last roller to Maidu Market. We rolled in to catch the front group.

Rolling out of Maidu we were around 20-25 riders strong. The group split at the light and I was fortunate enough to be in the lead group for the run down Auburn-Folsom road. Tom M. did a quick descent and I caught up with him just as the road turned up with the rest of the group passing us on this short climb before the real run in to Folsom starts. Big Ring Jeff took to the front (I guess BR Jeff likes this stretch of the road) and upped the pace for a couple of miles, then Robert and friend went to the front and put in huge pulls with everyone hanging on. There was an effort to get a double pace line going a few times but some of the riders are not up to speed on this type of pace line and it disintegrated. (We need to have a ride clinic to educate riders on this technique). Some of the riders split off on the way through Granite Bay to head home. Arriving at Karen's around 11:30am, I had a ride time of 3:10 at an average speed of 17.1 mph.

Overall this was a great ride today. All of the riders participating kept the ride safe.

Oz will have to fill in the KOM riders. I was too far back on the climbs to comment.

Performance ride leader Oz says:
In all my years with CF, this was probably one of the largest turnouts we have ever had. Guesstimates are that we had about 27 riders. There was definitely a feeling of excitement in the air. We rolled easily out of Karen's Parking lot over to East Natoma towards Green Valley road. Everyone stayed together until the road started to tilt slightly upwards towards Salmon Falls road. As we crested Green Valley road approaching our left turn onto Salmon Falls Road, the group heard a loud pop. The group slowed/stopped to evaluate the situation and we had heard that one of the riders had a side tire blowout. It was decided to roll slowly as one of the other riders (Danny) was able to help patch the rider's tire. As we headed down Salmon Falls Road toward the bridge, there were a good set of small hills/valleys and heart rate started to rise. This is just enough for the anticipation of the fast decent onto the bridge where some of the riders were planning a TT run from the bridge to the Rhino [Safari Estates]. Jeff T. and a handful of riders took off the front and were not to be seen again until the Rhino. Jeff told me that his time was slightly over 18 minutes (18:08)! A small group waited at the Rhino as the ensuing group finally arrived a few minutes back. We then all rode together to Pilot Hill where everyone got water and replenished on their nutrition. Kevin, Stan, and the rest of the Peloton group were not far behind and joined us for a while.

Once we had our water, Jeff Minter, Tom, Phil, and I led the group out of Pilot Hill into Cool. There were a lot of cars on the small curvy road into the confluence of the river. Some of the faster descenders were actually held up due to the traffic. We had heard later on that one of the riders (the one with a flat) may have collided with a motorcycle [ed., we don't know what really happened]. Hopefully he was OK. We enjoyed our descent into the confluence in anticipation of what would be the "queen" climb of the day (Old Foresthill Road). This is not a particularly steep climb, but a steady 6-8 percent, 3 mile climb. It's a grind getting up it. It's very exposed to the sun and we were starting to feel the heat. Once again, Jeff T. led a small group to the top and waited for the remaining ensuing riders at the top of the climb. We regrouped on Foresthilll road and road 20 riders strong down towards the Foresthill bridge. Just as you cross the bridge the road kicks up for about 3/4 mile with grades of around 10-12 percent. A small group was able to make it through the stop light but others got caught. The groups came back together in Auburn and we worked our way at an easy pace to Maidu Market where we refilled knowing that we had an exciting downhill to come on Auburn-Folsom. Seeing as how I got unhitched on the last ride down AF, I was not going to let that happen again so I stayed very close to the front group up and over PowerHouse road. Jeff T, Robert Goss, and Vic did some hard individual pulls at the front. Phil was in front of me the majority of the time, so I knew I was in a good position (thanks Phil!). The group was finally able to all join and share the load in a paceline rotation all the way to Folsom. As we approached Karen's, I looked down at my cyclometer and couldn't believe it was a little past 11:00.

Another great and safe ride!

Oz's ride stats: 54.4 miles in a ride time of 3:08 with an average speed of 17.3 mph and a total elevation gain of 4,304 ft and an average heart rate of 167 [Wow! That seems high. I guess Brian was coasting].

Peloton ride leader Stan says:
When I counted 30 cyclists at the ride start I got a bit nervous. Fortunately everyone had the appearance of being comfortable on their bikes. As we started the ride, my brain was saying "dude, you're gonna have a great ride today." As we started the climb up Salmon Falls from the bridge to the Rhino, my body began to slowly protest against my brain's jovial spirit.

Phil was kind enough to hang back and pace me and Jim Garwood up a good portion of the hill. Support from experienced riders like Phil is especially helpful when you're riding a route for the first time. Phil gave us a sense of how long the hill was, and when we might get some relief along the road, etc. After a while, Carl Costas dropped back to relieve Phil. Carl, too, offered helpful tips as we made our way up Old Forest Hill Road after the bridge. The climbs always seem longer to me the first time I do them.

At the top of Old Forest Hill Road, we re-grouped with Jim, Carl, Brian, Krysta, and Roxanne. We made our way up to the gas station and re-filled with water, Gatorade, and ice and got on our way for the fun part of the ride. As we came up on the descent on Auburn-Folsom at Indian Hill, Brian asked us to stop and suggested a game plan for the pace and pulling. I'm learning to appreciate more and more Brian's desire to communicate his thoughts and get people on the same page during a ride. I'm learning as I go along and hope to emulate his approach on rides I lead. Problem is, lately I've been doing very little leading and a lot of following! I'll keep at it though!

Peloton ride leader Kevin says:
We had a huge turn out today, I counted over 27 riders [more showed up later, ed.] staged at Karen’s for what I like to call the “Meat Grinder” or officially known as the Folsom Lake Loop. Starting out from Karen’s both groups stayed together for the most part until the first slow climb up Green Valley Road. Just at the top before turning onto Salmon Falls, one of the newer riders had a tire blow out (sidewall) and Danny stopped to help out. We heard later that he used the ol’ dollar bill trick to “patch” the blow out and I heard later that the rider continued on with the route. As we started up the 1st set of climbs towards the “Rhino” (at Safari Estates), the gradual, slow slog up the hill naturally thinned out the group. Most of the Performance riders had already spilt off the front of the group and started their timed sprints from the bridge to the Rhino. Phil dropped back to check on those of us slower climbers and offered encouragement to those needing a bit of extra help up the climbs. I stopped for a quick break and along with Phil waited for Stan and a few others to catch up before heading out. I managed to follow Phil and Danny up to the Pilot Hill water stop to find the Performance riders filling up their water bottles before heading up to Cool.

Not long after reaching Pilot Hill, Stan and few others rolled in for water and a short rest before the entire group rolled out towards Cool and down to the Confluence. Once on Hwy 49, I was able to catch up to a fast group of Performance riders that included Danny, Bruce, Oz, Carl, and Phil among others. Once we reached the descent the group spilt up a bit with the fastest out front all the way down to the bottom. The descent is fast and a bit tricky at times with one or two hairpin turns with reverse concaves on the roadway. This is one of those descents that can put you right in between cars as you barrel down the road. Found my self having to slow a bit to avoid rear ending a car on the sharpest curves. Some of us heard later that the same rider who had that blow out back at the beginning had a run in with a motorcycle; hopefully he wasn’t hurt too badly [we're not really sure what happened, sort of hearsay, ed.]. Once reaching the bottom we turned right and headed up the 3 mile climb to the Forest Hill Bridge. By this time it started to really heat up and I felt myself having to work hard just to keep a steady pace. It wasn’t long before I fell off of Oz and Bruce’s wheels. At the top of the climb we regrouped and headed up and over the Forest Hill bridge. The breeze while riding across was a welcome reprieve from the heat and it helped me catch on to a group of about 5 heading up that nasty little climb after the bridge into Auburn. This group included Bruce, Danny and John (Jeff?, ed.) who races for BP and we traded off taking the front heading back towards Folsom out of Auburn. It wasn’t long after heading out from our second water break at Maidu Market, a group of “fast movers” rolled by us like we were out for a Sunday stroll. At this point, I, along with the others in our small group were really felling like we were out of gas, but soon rolled into Karen’s to find a large group including those fast movers talking up the ride.

All and all, I felt pretty good today. This has got to be one of the best routes around; it’s got climbs, but nothing too steep and you gotta love the fast and curvy descent down to the confluence. Great ride everyone and thanks for helping pull me up a few of those climbs when the gas was just about to run out!

Kevin's ride stats: 53.75 miles in a ride time of 3:17 for an average speed of 16.3 with a total elevation gain of 4,371 and an average heart rate of 152 bpm.

Tuesday Climbing Ride

Tonight's evening climbing ride of 14 riders split-up into two groups (OK, maybe 2 1/2 groups): the Billy Goats doing the full clockwise route, the Easy Riders opting for the easy clockwise route, and the Junior Billy Goats knocking out the easy clockwise route, but at a faster pace than the Easy Riders. I opted to cruise with the Easy Riders.

Chief Billy Goat, Jeff, was gracious enough to lead the front group and take Frank, Andrew, Patrick, & Tim on the romp through the foothills of Folsom. I'm not too sure of what all went on in their group, but I think Frank was the first one back that did the full route (but also skipped the water stop at the park). Jeff and Andrew were not far behind and had an average speed of 17.3 mph. Nice riding guys!

The Easy Riders got dropped by the Billy Goats about 4 miles into the ride, but they caught a couple of green lights. Ya, OK, they were flat-out faster, no excuses. I lead Krysta, Cesar, Stan, Danny, Rowland, Oz, Bruce, & Kevin over the local cols. Junior Billy Goats Bruce and Kevin were itching too much to go faster and attacked over the top of Ridgeview and disappeared off the front. However, the Easy Riders skipped the water stop at the park and scooted on up Sophia toward Cote de Costco and slipped up the road, leap-frogging the Billy Goats and the Junior Billy Goats. That didn't last long! Up near the little climb on Sophia near E. Natoma, a blur of cyclists shot by us as the Easy Riders were searching for lower gears! That would be the last time till the ride's end that we would see the Billy Goats & Junior Billy Goats.

The Easy Riders cruised over Cote de Costco and suffered through the lights on Iron Point, but put in a solid effort for a great ride.

My Easy Rider stats for the evening were 25.4 miles in 1:37 ride time for an average speed of 15.6 mph and about 1,800 feet of climbing. I was happy to have a mellow ride keeping my average heart rate at 134 bpm.

Thanks for the ride everyone!

Coon Creek via Garden Bar Road

My ride stats: 68 miles in 3:46 ride time for an average speed of 18.0 mph and 4,300 ft of climbing.

We had a good group with 7 of us setting out on the ride to see where Coon Creek was at and to see what riding Garden Bar had to offer for cycling. The weather was very cool for this time of year (low to mid 60s) with a south wind of 10-15 mph. It was a good thing we were heading north first to have the tailwind help us up and over the rolling hills west of Auburn; but as always, heading down Auburn-Folsom Road into a headwind is no picnic.

The pace was moving along around 20 mph for about the first 10-15 miles. John (I think the guy's name wearing the gray jersey on the white Tarmac was John; could be wrong) decided to take over the pace setting for Jeremy and bumped it up to about 23 mph on the uphill rollers on Val Verde Rd. That did it for me; I've been riding too hard the past couple of weeks without the proper rest and I went right out the back and rode through Penryn and over English Colony solo. I bet the lead group was fast and punchy over English Colony and the little climb up to Sierra College was making its self known.

We all regrouped at the top of Sierra College (thanks guys!) and I ramped up the pace on the descent down to Hwy 193; going downhill is the easy part. We had a good double pace line heading toward Lincoln, but I was on the front; not the ideal place to be to sprint for the city limit. I waited till the sign was clearly visible for everyone and then made my successful jump. OK, I got to admit, I was the only one that remembered the sprint and caught everyone off guard.

After a short water stop at the park in Lincoln we headed north out of town to Virginiatown (12th St) to work our way through the country roads west of Auburn. Although there isn't any serious or signature climb, the whole area is generally rolling hills and starts to sap the strength in your legs. We headed north on Garden Bar for the out-n-back to Coon Creek (Garden Bar Rd turns to dirt for about 3 miles and has private gates). The road is small and generally quite (a couple of cars), and the surface is decent. It climbs gradually up and over an oak studded hill that changes in elevation about 400 ft and then descends down to Coon Creek. We regrouped at the bridge and took a very brief break and then climbed back out of the little valley.

Next up was Wise and Lozanos Roads. After some route finding issues, everyone was on track wandering the windy (and windy now) Wise Rd. We regrouped near the fire station at Crater Hill Rd, then dropped down through Ophir, only to be surprised by more climbing up to Ophir Road.

We made the regular stop at the gas station in Newcastle and then headed up the high point of the day, Indian Hill. The last big obstacle of the day was the ride down Auburn-Folsom. It's certainly not a hard ride, but after 50 miles, the high pace, wind, and rollers could easily unhitch you from the group. I got passed by John and the Webcor guy, but quickly jumped on their wheel for a nice draft. Carl caught on behind me making the group 4 strong. Mr. Webcor did a monster pull at 25+ into the headwind for the first few miles. I think everyone was happy to sit-in; I know I was. I was surprised when Jeremy came over the top and went to the front to pull. The Webcor guy swung off and wasn't see again; I think he may have returned home, since we picked him up earlier when we were heading north. Oz was unhitched and rode into the wind most of the way, and Patrick had a cramped or pulled calf that kept him from riding with the lead group. Carl eventually swung off at Cavitt-Stallman to head home. Upfront, it was me, Jeremy, John, & Tom trading pulls into the wind and keeping the pace as high as possible back into Folsom.

Tuesday Climbing Ride

Hot! Hot! Hot! We were feeling hot, Hot, HOT! At 5:30 pm the temperature in Folsom was about 103 degrees! A dedicated group of us rolled out despite the heat to get in a ride: CF regulars Phil, Gary, Kevin, Stan, Carl, Krysta, Curt, & myself were joined by Chad and Bob for a counter clockwise jaunt around Folsom.

The group started to split up on the first real climb (Carpenter Hill) and, combined with the heat, some folks decided to pull the plug and head back to the start. No problem! It's all about riding within yourself and knowing your limits, and then come out swinging another day.

Curt, Carl, Chad, Bob, and I crested Carpenter Hill (Costco) more or less together and made a moderate run down Sophia to Beatty. Curt must have been wearing an ice jacket under his Road Rash jersey because he flew up Beatty unfazed by the heat. I was in no hurry to kill myself just yet and kept a high-moderate pace. We all regrouped at the top and Gary was able to latch back onto the group. We dropped down Montridge at 45 mph and then watched Curt sprint to the top of Wilson. We soft-pedaled on EDH a little ways to get the group together, and then shot down EDH at 25 mph to Brittany. After a little more climbing and a mellow descent, we stopped at the park for shade and water. Phil caught back up with us and we all rolled out 7 strong.

Curt wasn't messing around with the final miles to the ride start. He went to the front on the little climb on Sophia to E Natoma and hammered it. I was barely able to hang onto his wheel, but others were put through the wood chipper and spit-out. Curt and I made a good run into Folsom, but had Phil and Carl hot on our heels. Chad and Bob rolled in not too far behind. Gary split the route to go to his house. Great riding guys!

Stan gets big kudos! Our Chief Evangelist was opting out of the climbing ride at the beginning of the ride due to the heat and was thinking of doing a ride on the bike trail. We gave him some friendly encouragement (Come on you loser! What are you talking about?!) and he stuck with the ride. Way to go Stan!

My ride stats: 27 miles in 1:40 ride time for an average speed of 16.3 mph and about 1,900 feet of climbing.

Georgetown

Preview
Counter clockwise; we'll be heading out Green Valley & return on Salmon Falls with Prospector's Grade thrown in for good measure. RSVP via Meetup.
Route map: RideWithGPS or MapMyRide
Meet location: Parking lot across from Karen's Bakery/Bicycles Plus
Leave time: 8:00 am
Distance: 70 miles
Climbing: Yup, its all climbing heading out. About 6,000-7,000 feet.

Ride Report
My ride stats: 71.5 miles in 4:20 ride time for an average speed of 16.5 mph and 6,200 ft of climbing.

The weather was great for cycling. The sky was little overcast in the morning keeping it cool enough for some to wear arm warmers, and comfortable descending the foothills later when it warmed up. Phil, Dave, Gary, and I left downtown Folsom, and then met up with Oz on Green Valley. The rolling climbs on Green Valley got everyone warmed up and ready for the climbs to come. I ended up getting a flat on Starbuck, but this allowed Bicycles Plus riders Jeff & Steve to join up with our group. We were all totally surprised to see that Deer Valley had fresh, smooth tarmac and some couldn't help from attacking on the big rollers to Rescue.

After our water stop at the Rescue Fire Dept, Gary headed out on his own through Cameron Park and the rest of us headed for Lotus. Oz set a fierce tempo up over the climb on Lotus Road, whereas Phil and I were more interested in bombing the downhill side. We all made our way over to Prospector's Grade; the wise climber knowing that this was only mile 28 of a 70 mile ride with another 6 miles of steady climbing to go, opted to settle into a an easy tempo and not race for the top. Of course, if you're turning around at the top to head home early, I guess you can push the pace. Steve took the KOM and then headed back home due to time constraints. The rest of us, Phil, Oz, Dave, Jeff, & I, forged on to Georgetown.

After knocking back some fuel in Georgetown (for me that was 2 snickers and a Coca-Cola), we tore out of Georgetown looking forward to some descending. I was able to get a gap off the front at first, but then Phil resorted to drafting off some cars to catch my wheel. Oz caught up to us when we starting hitting some of the rollers and the 3 of us worked together to keep the pace going. We were almost to Cool when Oz couldn't ride his flattening tire anymore. After pulling out a couple of thorns and slapping in a new tube, we were all gruppo compacto when we rolled into Cool. Phil did all the hard work on the slight descent (but into a head wind) from Cool to Pilot Hill; the rest of us were more than willing to free-wheel it in his draft.

After a little bit of climbing from Hwy 49 to the "rhino" on Salmon Falls, the downhill attacks started coming; first Jeff, then Phil. I was just happy to catch their wheels as they went blowing past. Me, I was waiting for the last two little climbs on Salmon Falls and then the roll-out to Green Valley. Phil, Jeff, & I crossed the South Fork bridge together and starting grinding up the first climb. The cumulative climbing for the day could be felt, and felt good; I was just on the edge of cramping. I made it over the top first and within sight of Phil. I tried to descend fast, but rest my legs a little for the next climb up to Falcon Crest. I made it up to Falcon Crest and couldn't see Phil or Jeff and was feeling good for the run-out to Green Valley. I had a good tempo going, but I was expecting Phil & Jeff to ride up on me at any moment. I was surprised to make it to Green Valley without them in sight.

I made it back to downtown Folsom and chatted with Dave when he rolled in little bit latter. Oz, Phil, & Jeff had all headed on home while rolling into Folsom. It was a great day of riding!

Tuesday Climbing Ride

12 of us rolled out of down town Folsom for a 30 mile clockwise loop of the local climbs. We all stayed together more or less onto Green Valley and Sophia. I'm not sure what happened to Rowland and his two friends; I thought everyone made the light onto Green Valley.

Jeff was off the front up the first climbs of Sophia, Elmores, & Brittany starting the splits in the group. Oz, Jeff, new rider Jim, and I formed a small lead group and were happy to let Jeff pull on El Dorado Hills Blvd to the base of the Ridgeview climb. We all settled into our own personal pergatory up this climb, but the climbing gods were smiling on Big Ring Jeff; we wouldn't see him again until the park. Jim, Oz, & I were gruppo compacto at the bottom of Montridge and more or less were together up and over Powers. We met up with Kevin along Powers; I guess he had some route finding issues & happened to take a short cut. We all met up at the Park after dropping down Beatty at 50 mph. Bruce met up with us after a late ride start, and Tim was also able to catch back on.

Seven us rolled out of the park and into the head wind on Sophia/Empire Ranch with our sights set on Cote de Costco (Carpenter Hill). I knew Jeff would be knocking out another KOM on Carpenter Hill; I thought I'd do my best to sit on his wheel and draft considering the wind. He went over the top a ways ahead of me, but it was no holds barred on the descent to Serpa. The key is to carry your speed onto Serpa to roll over the next little hill. I put in a dig here and was able to go over the top of Jeff. I was hoping to keep the gap until the next pass of Cote de Costco, but just as I swung back onto the climb and looked over my shoulder, yup, there he was. So, for the second pass I tried to ride out of the wind and on his wheel.

We all regrouped at the top of Carpenter Hill for the run down Iron Point. I wanted the pace to be high, so I rode at the front and tried to keep the pace around 23-26 mph. Everyone was on board, but unfortunately the lights were not our friends. We cruised a moderate to high pace along the trail as the sun was setting.

This was a great ride with a lot of folks staying in the lead group. My ride stats were 29.6 miles in a ride time of 1:46 with a 16.6 mph average and about 2,275 feet of climbing. Jeff was the first one over every single climb and averaged 17.2 mph.

Krysta and Stan did the whole route and had a great ride doing the 29.6 miles in 2:06 for an average pace of 14.1 mph. Great riding guys!

Tuesday Climbing Ride

Colleen, Patrick, Phil, and I set out to conquer the local buttes in the regular clockwise direction. We all stayed together until we hit the climb up Ridgeview. Some of the folks short cutted the Montridge climb due to route finding, but Colleen and I did this nasty little climb on the sun baked slope. I don't know if it was the heat frying my electronics, but I was surprised to see my Garmin 305 record a reading of 15% grade on Montridge. This may have been part of the reason why Colleen ducked out a little early from the ride. But she also said she "was feeling the weekend" (too much riding or too much partying? I'm guessing the former).

We all met up at the park for a nice water stop and then headed south on Sophia giving Colleen a tow to E Natoma where she headed back for the barn. Patrick, Phil, and I did the two loops around Cote de Costco and enjoyed the climbing in the shade; Phil liked it so much that he had to do it in the Big Ring. The three of us kept the pace high (20-26 mph) on the run down Iron Point, then backed off a little to cool down as we returned on the bike trail.

My ride stats: 29.7 miles in 1:46 ride time, with an average pace of 16.7 mph (my max speed was 48 mph, Beatty), and about 2,290 ft total climbing.

Tuesday climbing ride

Finally! An evening when the temp wasn't 95+ degrees! Kevin, Joel, Bruce, Gary, and I were joined by first-time Tuesday Climbers Patrick and Krysta (my partner) for the full counter clockwise route. The weather gods smiled upon us with temperatures in the mid 80s and a mild south-southwest wind that propelled us on Sophia & EDH Blvd, but hammered us on the return on E Natoma.

We rolled out on the bike trail and were briefly joined by Phil on his TT bike (Phil is going to make the podium this Thursday in his TT race series; Go Phil!). We headed up Iron Point riding at a moderate pace around 17-20 mph to loosen-up the legs. We were gruppo compacto at the base of Carpenter Hill (Cote de Costco), but as typical, everyone rode at their own pace up the first pass. I guess newcomer Patrick was feeling a little spry and jumped off the front on the upper slope of Cote de Costco when the light turned green. I wasn't interested in chasing since this was the first of 5 climbs. We were all relatively close together over the top. Krysta opted for the medium counter clockwise route which skipped the second pass of Cote de Costco and headed off towards Beatty. I thought I'd toughen up the ride a little and attacked before the stop sign at Broadstone & Empire Ranch, hitting the left turn onto Broadstone fast and carrying my speed up over the next little uncategorized climb. I slipped away... at least till I hit the red light at Serpa & Iron Point.

We all started the second pass of Carpenter Hill together. I thought Patrick had caught back on as we turned onto Empire Ranch, but it turns out he missed the turn and hit the dead end at the east end of Iron Point. Latter he let me know he finished up his ride heading out Sophia, to Green Valley, and back to Karen's. Kevin, Joel, Bruce, Gary, and I were more than happy with the tailwind on Sophia to set us up for Beatty. We knocked-out the grind up Beatty (tops out at 13% grade) and skirted the ridge up on Powers, only to drop down Montridge to have to climb back out over Wilson.

We swept Krysta up on El Dorado Hills Blvd and gave her a tow over to Brittany, but the heat was on to hammer down the short descent to set-up the little climb on Brittany. We made a quick water stop at the park and then turned south on Sophia into an uphill headwind; I think we were all happy to let Gary do the work on the front. Gary split at Blue Ravine to head home and Kevin, Joel, Bruce, & I pointed our noses toward the barn and hammered down E Natoma into a headwind at 26 mph to finish up the ride.

My computer registered 31.2 miles in 1:54 hours for an average speed of 16.4 mph and about 2,300 ft total elevation gain.

Tuesday Climbing Ride

A great group of 8 of us set-out to do the clockwise route: Performance Group riders Phil, Gary, Jeff, & myself, along with Peloton Group riders Kevin & Joel, & regular Tuesday night rider Colleen, & new to Cycle Folsom rider Megan. It was another hot night with the mercury peaking in the mid 90s. Everyone rode Ridgeview Rd at their own tempo tackling the climb that tops out at 13%. I thought it would be best to take it a little easier with the heat, so we bypassed the sun baked Montridge Way climb and rendezvoused at the park for a refreshing water stop. The south wind made itself known when we headed out Sophia/Empire Ranch; it noticeably took the spring out of the step of some folks before we got onto the slopes of Cote de Costco (Carpenter Hill). After circumnavigating Carpenter Hill and hitting the 6-9% climb on Empire Ranch twice, we were gruppo compacto on Iron Point until Jeff decided to put in a dig up the gradual slope near McAdoo. I quickly closed down the gap jumping on his wheel. It wasn't my goal to slip off the front with him; I just didn't want him to get away. So there I sat making him do the work. Phil came up from behind and pulled through off the front, and again, I was right on his wheel, not wanting anyone to slip away. With the signal lights, we all ended up being brought back into the group and worked together till the end of the ride. It was a great ride with a dedicated group of cyclists that were challenged in one form or another. My electronics registered a ride of 28 miles in a ride time of 1:48 with an average speed around 15.5-16 mph (max speed of 54 mph descending Beatty!).

Tuesday Climbing Ride

Gary and I knocked out the 2 hour training ride around the foothills of Folsom and El Dorado Hills. The climbing is a touch more difficult in the counterclockwise direction. We conquered the upper slopes of Cote de Costco twice, slogged up the steep pitch of Beatty berg, and wallowed over Wilson. We were hoping for a south tailwind on the flats of Empire Ranch and EDH Blvd, but ended up battling a western crosswind, only to turn into a head wind on the way back to the barn. All in all, it was a great training ride. Stats: 29.9 miles, 1:50 time, 16.5 mph average, about 2,200 ft climbing.

Pilot Hill, out & back

With many Cycle Folsom riders out of town for either the Death Ride or the San Jose LiveStrong Challenge over the weekend, the Performance and Peloton ride leaders decided to consolidate the groups and do an out-and-back to Pilot Hill. This was a great opportunity for the Peloton and Performance riders to compare their fitness on a decent climbing ride over a mild distance. Peloton ride leader, Joel, and Performance ride leader, Brian (that be me), decked to the nines in their new Cycle Folsom kits, were joined by Roxanne, Erik, Danny, and Gary. Unfortunately, Gary departed early due to a mechanical issue left over from his from his spectacular spill on Prospector's Grade back in June. The good news is that Gary is getting back in form and will soon be pushing the pace on the Performance Group rides.

Danny was the strongest rider of the day, yo-yoing off the front, and coming back to offer words of encouragement and pace folks back into the group. The notable challenge of the day was the 3.5 mi climb from the South Fork American River up 900 feet to the rhino at Safari Estates. Everyone did a great job of riding at a steady pace within their means. All in all, it was a great training ride with my electronics recording 40 miles with 3,300 feet of climbing averaging about 15.5 mph for a ride time of 2:40 (3 hours including stops).

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Tuesday Climbing Ride

There was more challenges tonight than just the tarmac tilting upwards. The mercury was topped out around 95 and the flags were saluting a 10+ mph wind. Colleen and I were up for the challenge & opted for all the climbs with a short break at the park. My Garmin logged 29.6 miles in 1:50 with an average speed of 16.0 mph and 2,300 feet of climbing. Folsom Tuesday climbing ride, regular route.