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).

New threads

Check out the new Cycle Folsom kits!

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.

Holiday Disco Dance

Since the 4th of July fell on a Sunday this year, some of us with Monday as a holiday decided to ride down to Discovery Park and back from Folsom. Kevin, Joel, John and myself were joined by Graham (Gram?), a rider new-to-Cycle Folsom. We did the trail dance with a few thousand other cyclists that had the same idea as us. The plan was to ride a mellow recovery pace. Everyone cooperated at the front and we completed the 57.5 mile ride in just about 3 hours, averaging about 18.5 mph (a little faster than I was expecting). Great ride guys!

Coffee Republic route ride

The Cycle Folsom Peloton group set out at 07:30 to ride the Lincoln-Chili Hill-Power House Loop. This set up a perfect "fox & hound" ride for the Performance group. Could the big dogs close down a 1/2 hour gap on the foxes up the road? Oz, Eric and I set out at 08:00 sharp opting for the very similar Coffee Republic ride route that snakes up to Penryn from Folsom, then hits the quick rollers on English Colony, winding through the country roads of Placer County, and climbing the stair-step Ridge Road. Our goal was to catch the Peloton group on the speedy run-in on Auburn-Folsom Road.

The three of us worked well together and kept our small group together, even over Ridge Road. We took a quick water stop at the gas station in Newcastle, then quickly got back to business of hunting some foxes. Once on Auburn-Folsom we got our rotations organized and all of us contributed to the pace. Next thing you know, there were a couple of cyclists up the road; perfect carrot. I could tell that all of us were thinking, "OK, just catch those guys and take it from there." We reeled them in. As we passed, we heard "alright, now we got a tow home." Turns out it was Stan and Chuck from the Peloton group! Foxes caught!

OK, I have to be honest with you. Back at the gas station we decided to drop Indian Hill and hit Powerhouse Road (the Peloton's route). This shortened-up our ride a little. Also, it sounds like the Peloton group had some bad luck with mechanicals and route finding. All in all, it was a great ride for the three of us finishing in about 2 1/2 hours and averaging 18 mph over 46.5 miles with about 2,800 ft of climbing.

W.B. Pond Park Ride Becomes Sticky

It was a beautiful morning Saturday as we began our ride out to William B. Pond Park and back. There were 8 of us at the ride start, with capabilities ranging from the oh-so-quick Oz and Gary, to Peloton newcomer Graham. Graham has been riding in our 11am Beginner rides, in addition to doing several rides on his own. Given that the pace was definitely on the high side of our Group's typical range, he did a great job holding on for most of the way out to W.B. Pond, and a good part of the way back. Nice job Graham. Keep up with the training. Soon you'll be pulling us.

On the way out, things got a little sticky—for two reasons. First, several other cyclist joined our pace line and did a pretty good job sticking to us like glue. At one point we had about 15 riders in the pace line.

Second, the trail got a little clogged up with some slower riders and some oncoming traffic, which resulted in a pretty scary near miss. It was a sober reminder to all of us how important it is to keep the adrenaline and testosterone in check, and to exercise patience and safety whenever we're riding.

Even if it means that a gap will be created, the safety of yourself and especially the others around you and behind you in the pace line is more important than your reputation for holding someone's wheel. Our group can gain or lose respect very quickly depending on how we're perceived on the trail, so let's all try to keep safety as our #1 goal when riding.