Thursday, May 04, 2006
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Finished!
February 27th- Venice Beach to Oxnard
58 miles
Definitely the coldest ride! The rain finally came, and when it rains it pours. It soaked me to the bone and my feet were numb by the time I hit Oxnard. I had been so spoiled with the weather up to then, so I really didn't mind.
So... LA to SF and back, is over 1000 miles by my clock.
6.5 days up
5.25 days down
Super Special Thanks to:
Gabrielle, DanEboy, Amanda, Kim, Deanna, Scott Free, Elise, Addie, Seng, Plex, Byron, Gunner, Samir, Mary and Allesandra, the coffee makers, the racers, Dad, Zan, and Kevin!
Redondo Beach- Stage 7
February 26th-
Redondo Beach was about a 17 mile ride from Venice. Everything in LA is an hour away! As soon as I got there I ran into Vern again. He had staked out a good spot a turn where you could see the riders coming in both directions. It was a 7.65 mile circuit and ten laps, so we were garanteed to see them twenty times. On the second lap there was a break. Four brave riders put a lead on the peleton that increased to alomost four minutes! It certainly made for a more exciting race even though the peleton was bound to catch them eventually. They enjoyed the glory for a good seven laps until the dyanmics of the peleton switched around and caught them. T-Mobile took the glory for the day and Olaf wore the victory jersey for Sunday.
The award ceremony was great. Floyd Landis took the overall win, and CSC got best team and they set the precident by squirting the crowd with their victory champagne. Soon everyone was soaked, and one camera guy got it real bad. A whole bottle of champagne was dedicated to him, but took it like a champ, no doubt his equipment suffered.
So the 2006 Tour of California was over, and the Tour of Amy was coming to an end. I just had to ride back to Oxnard to make it a full round trip.
Santa Monica and 1000 miles
February 25th- Santa Barbara to Santa Monica
95 miles
This ride is really beautiful because it goes through the Santa Monica Mountains but stays flat along the coast. You get too look at the mountains on the left but not be tortured by them. It's a nice, rolling ride down. It being a Saturday, the roads were packed with Motorcycles, all heading towards a restaurant/bar called Neptunes Net (just north of Zuma beach). It was cool to see all the different gangs and some girls on bikes too! There must have been about two hundred of them all hanging out there. Needless to say I stole a quick glance and a photo on the sly, but pedaled pretty fast past it. Maybe in a different lifetime.
Made it to Santa Monica with one flat, but a quick fix and no big deal. I can't complain as it was my only flat the whole trip. I sugest Armadillo's for touring, it was only a huge rusty nail in the end that broke through that Kevlar wall!
After Celebrating by myself on the pier in Santa Monica, I rode down to Venice Beach where Scott Free (a messenger friend of many, many years) picked me up and we celebrated together with his wife, and a bottle of wine.
The Odometer hit 1000 miles.
95 miles
This ride is really beautiful because it goes through the Santa Monica Mountains but stays flat along the coast. You get too look at the mountains on the left but not be tortured by them. It's a nice, rolling ride down. It being a Saturday, the roads were packed with Motorcycles, all heading towards a restaurant/bar called Neptunes Net (just north of Zuma beach). It was cool to see all the different gangs and some girls on bikes too! There must have been about two hundred of them all hanging out there. Needless to say I stole a quick glance and a photo on the sly, but pedaled pretty fast past it. Maybe in a different lifetime.
Made it to Santa Monica with one flat, but a quick fix and no big deal. I can't complain as it was my only flat the whole trip. I sugest Armadillo's for touring, it was only a huge rusty nail in the end that broke through that Kevlar wall!
After Celebrating by myself on the pier in Santa Monica, I rode down to Venice Beach where Scott Free (a messenger friend of many, many years) picked me up and we celebrated together with his wife, and a bottle of wine.
The Odometer hit 1000 miles.
Santa Barbara- Stage 5
February 24th- El Capitan campground to Santa Barbara
22 miles
Made it! All those long days paid off as I rolled into Santa Barbara in plenty of time to stake out a great spot. I met some other touring eastcoasters and had a quick coffee with them, then grabbed the prime spot at the finish line to wait.
I was way early (about three hours). The crowd started getting thicker so I used my best NYC attitude to keep my well deserved spot in the front row. I wanted that photo finish shot! The person next to me was a cool guy from San Diego named Vern, who had once trainned with Chris Horner back in the day. So I at least had some good company for the wait. We waited and waited and waited, and watched the peleton get closer and closer on the very large monitor. The announcers got more and more excited. Finally they came tearing down the straightaway. It all happened so fast! I had to hold my camera out because people were leaning so far over the rail so I lost control of what I was shooting. I pushed the shutter and hoped. It was such a blur of color and motion that raced through, it was hard to see who won. Vern saw it. It was George!! When I looked through the images in my camera, I saw that shot! That one shot of him with his arms up in victory. Somehow I got it. That would have been shame to miss.
I met up with Seng again and while he went off to the press room, I ate ice cream on the pier. I was taking the day off! Later Seng let me crash in his hotel room in exchange for a delicious Japanese meal, before my last ride south to Santa Monica. Los Angeles here I come!
22 miles
Made it! All those long days paid off as I rolled into Santa Barbara in plenty of time to stake out a great spot. I met some other touring eastcoasters and had a quick coffee with them, then grabbed the prime spot at the finish line to wait.
I was way early (about three hours). The crowd started getting thicker so I used my best NYC attitude to keep my well deserved spot in the front row. I wanted that photo finish shot! The person next to me was a cool guy from San Diego named Vern, who had once trainned with Chris Horner back in the day. So I at least had some good company for the wait. We waited and waited and waited, and watched the peleton get closer and closer on the very large monitor. The announcers got more and more excited. Finally they came tearing down the straightaway. It all happened so fast! I had to hold my camera out because people were leaning so far over the rail so I lost control of what I was shooting. I pushed the shutter and hoped. It was such a blur of color and motion that raced through, it was hard to see who won. Vern saw it. It was George!! When I looked through the images in my camera, I saw that shot! That one shot of him with his arms up in victory. Somehow I got it. That would have been shame to miss.
I met up with Seng again and while he went off to the press room, I ate ice cream on the pier. I was taking the day off! Later Seng let me crash in his hotel room in exchange for a delicious Japanese meal, before my last ride south to Santa Monica. Los Angeles here I come!
Dolphin peleton
February 23rd- Pismo Beach to El Capitan Campground
80.5 miles
Still pushing to make Santa Barbara for Stage 5, I feel possesed. I have energy like I've never had before from yesterday's Century. I feel so good in the morning that I push a good ten miles before stopping in Oceano for coffee. I find the nicest place for a ten minute break and find a newspaper article in the sports section about the Tour. There's a great photo by the Associated Press of Hincapie crossing the finish line of stage two with his arms raised up in victory. I clip this article and put in in my handlebar bag as inspiration. It is such a great moment, and such a perfect photograph. I imagine standing by the finish line in Santa Barbara.
This image got me up all the hills that day (and there were some climbs!). I made such good time that day and 80 miles felt like a short day. The plan was to camp a mere 20 miles from Santa Barbara and knock that out in the morning to be fresh and early for the 2 o'clock finish there. I had to be early to grab that photo finish spot on the rail!
The sun was still up when I had set up camp and done all the "chores". It's hard work camping! I decided that it was high time to stick my feet in the ocean and enjoy the beach for the sunset. There was a group of people on the beach and after a few minutes a nice woman came up to me and pointed to a spot in the ocean. "Do you see the Dolphins?". Holy Shit! There were a group of them jumping and turning as they swam north. They were so graceful and in a perfect paceline. A peleton of dolphins!
Pismo Century
February 22nd- Kirk Creek to Pismo State Campground (North Beach)
100.3 miles
The sun was getting pretty low when I finally made it past Pismo to Grover Beach. I was shooting for the same campground that I stayed at on the way because they let me stay there for five bucks even though they don't have official Hiker/Biker rates. Otherwise it is a budget busting $20. I looked around for a ranger to plead my case with but since it was late in the day, the office was closed. The camps work on honor system at this point, and you have to fill out a little yellow slip and drop a fiver into a deposit slot. It pays to be honest beacuse it is a totally reasonable system. I rode through the "tent" area and noticed that it was completly deserted. I thought this very wierd but was hoping that it was because it was not a weekend but when I pulled around to the main entrance, a sign told me that the tent area was close for tree removal. WTF? Arg. The RV section was open of course. They had odviously felled all the trees they needed to here to make room for those monsterous machines. I found the campground "Host". These are people who live in the campsites in decked out campers and basically run the place when the rangers go home. Most Hosts are helpful if they are indeed home. This one was; An elder man and wife. Nice people but hosts don't hold much authority and he was pedantic. He informed me that if I didn't want to pay the $29 RV fee then my best bet was to ride back to Pismo and camp at North Beach for $20. I was seriously running out of light at this point, but out of principal was definelty not going to pay almost thirty bucks for a parking space with electricity I didn't need. So back to Pismo I went. By the time I had found the right campsite and figured out dinner, and put the bike down for the day, the odometer read excatly 100 miles more than it had that morning. "Oh Gosh" I thought, "A century". All of a sudden all my muscles and joints hurt as I lay down on my earth bed and slept a good ten hours.
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
San Luis Obispo!
February 22nd-
I love San Luis Obispo! It's a little city of 44,000, south of Big Sur and it's one of my favorite spots. It's all I could think about all day. I stopped at a bike shop here to check my tire pressure and met a cool local who was telling me that they are going to have their first alleycat ever Friday night! There are no messengers here but the idea has caught on I guess. He also showed me the results of the Tour, my first break all day. Go Hincapie!!!!!
I am persevering trying to get to Santa Barbara by Friday morning. Stage 5 is ending there. I am really putting the miles in to do this, so this post will be short and sweet. I am giving myself a half hour to eat a muffin before pushing on to Pismo State Campground. Then I'll just have 100 miles to Santa Barbara.
It's been a couple of long days, but it will be worth it. I am going to collapse! (not yet though).
Monday February 20:
San Francisco to Sunset Beach state park (south of Santa Cruz)
96 miles
Tuesday February 21:
Sunset Beach to Kilk Creek Campground, through Big Sur!
91 miles
Wednesday February 22:
Kilk Creek to Pismo State Park
100 miles
I have stories, but they will have to wait, I need a shower so bad.
I will also post some info and advice to for all the people that have called me or emailed me that they are doing this route soon. It's such a cool ride. I have tons of info to share and will post that soon. I am currently fried from all the miles but HAPPY!!!
I love San Luis Obispo! It's a little city of 44,000, south of Big Sur and it's one of my favorite spots. It's all I could think about all day. I stopped at a bike shop here to check my tire pressure and met a cool local who was telling me that they are going to have their first alleycat ever Friday night! There are no messengers here but the idea has caught on I guess. He also showed me the results of the Tour, my first break all day. Go Hincapie!!!!!
I am persevering trying to get to Santa Barbara by Friday morning. Stage 5 is ending there. I am really putting the miles in to do this, so this post will be short and sweet. I am giving myself a half hour to eat a muffin before pushing on to Pismo State Campground. Then I'll just have 100 miles to Santa Barbara.
It's been a couple of long days, but it will be worth it. I am going to collapse! (not yet though).
Monday February 20:
San Francisco to Sunset Beach state park (south of Santa Cruz)
96 miles
Tuesday February 21:
Sunset Beach to Kilk Creek Campground, through Big Sur!
91 miles
Wednesday February 22:
Kilk Creek to Pismo State Park
100 miles
I have stories, but they will have to wait, I need a shower so bad.
I will also post some info and advice to for all the people that have called me or emailed me that they are doing this route soon. It's such a cool ride. I have tons of info to share and will post that soon. I am currently fried from all the miles but HAPPY!!!
Monday, February 20, 2006
Time Trial
February 19th- Last day in SF!
The Pro Time Trial was spectacular. Taliah, Dave and I found a great spot on Telegraph Hill to watch them sweat up the street, and turn up to Coit Tower. At one minute intervals they appreared. Taliah called out the racer numbers and Dave was able to ID them off the race roster (altough Dave is so Bad Ass, he knew who most of them were without looking at the list).I snapped pics like mad and wrote the names down as Dave called them out. Later I'll match the pictures to the names. Very exciting to see the guys so close. A few of them rode back down Telegraph Hill when it was over, including Hincapie. Levi won by a landslide (a Californian!) and topped it off by descending with a Critical Mass of spectator cyclists behind him.
We then went back down to the start line and festival where govenor ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER (!) hosted the awards ceremony. We definetly got a kick out of that. Too good! After the awards, we ran into Seng Chen. He's a great friend, ex messenger and sports photographer. Seng had a press pass, so I tagged along with him to the official press room. I was just wondering if I was going to see any of the BIG GUYS (photographers), when Seng wispered to me that Graham Watson just walked in the door. WHAT!?! Only the greatest cycling photographer in the world??? Graham Watson in flesh and blood. I had to meet him. I was bouncing in my seat waiting for an appropriate moment when I couldn't take it anymore. I went up to him with a huge smile and shook his hand. He was so nice! Graham Watson...that made my day.
Off to Santa Cruz tomorrow. Vacation is sadly over. Time to ride again. Looks like I'll meet up with the Tour again in Santa Barbara. Can't wait.
Top Five Winners of yesterdays Time Trial:
1-Levi Leipheimer
2-Bobby Julich
3-George Hincapie
4-Floyd Landis
5-David Zabriskie
Let's see what the week brings!!!
The Pro Time Trial was spectacular. Taliah, Dave and I found a great spot on Telegraph Hill to watch them sweat up the street, and turn up to Coit Tower. At one minute intervals they appreared. Taliah called out the racer numbers and Dave was able to ID them off the race roster (altough Dave is so Bad Ass, he knew who most of them were without looking at the list).I snapped pics like mad and wrote the names down as Dave called them out. Later I'll match the pictures to the names. Very exciting to see the guys so close. A few of them rode back down Telegraph Hill when it was over, including Hincapie. Levi won by a landslide (a Californian!) and topped it off by descending with a Critical Mass of spectator cyclists behind him.
We then went back down to the start line and festival where govenor ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER (!) hosted the awards ceremony. We definetly got a kick out of that. Too good! After the awards, we ran into Seng Chen. He's a great friend, ex messenger and sports photographer. Seng had a press pass, so I tagged along with him to the official press room. I was just wondering if I was going to see any of the BIG GUYS (photographers), when Seng wispered to me that Graham Watson just walked in the door. WHAT!?! Only the greatest cycling photographer in the world??? Graham Watson in flesh and blood. I had to meet him. I was bouncing in my seat waiting for an appropriate moment when I couldn't take it anymore. I went up to him with a huge smile and shook his hand. He was so nice! Graham Watson...that made my day.
Off to Santa Cruz tomorrow. Vacation is sadly over. Time to ride again. Looks like I'll meet up with the Tour again in Santa Barbara. Can't wait.
Top Five Winners of yesterdays Time Trial:
1-Levi Leipheimer
2-Bobby Julich
3-George Hincapie
4-Floyd Landis
5-David Zabriskie
Let's see what the week brings!!!
Saturday, February 18, 2006
Brooklyn takes 5th in Messenger Time Trial!
February 18th:
The city is all abuzz. Pros have been spotted. The rain will stop by tomorrow. Today the messengers got together and raced the same course as tomorrows time trial. A whopping 1.9 miles up the Embarcadero, across to Bay street, to end on a Lombard street climb up to Coit Tower. Six of us braved the course today. We mimicked the time trial and started in one minute intervals. The festival was already setting up and the banners and baricades are ready for tomorrow. It was the shortest messenger alleycat I have ever done, and I came in fifth place. Hey...not last place at least! I got first girl and first outta town!!
Some of the pros that will be there tomorrow:
Bobby Julich
Michael Rogers
Floyd Landis
George Hincapie
Fast Freddie!!!
Maybe Marty Nothstein too, but I am not sure....we shall see.
Think they can beat our time today??? Uh...Yes.
The city is all abuzz. Pros have been spotted. The rain will stop by tomorrow. Today the messengers got together and raced the same course as tomorrows time trial. A whopping 1.9 miles up the Embarcadero, across to Bay street, to end on a Lombard street climb up to Coit Tower. Six of us braved the course today. We mimicked the time trial and started in one minute intervals. The festival was already setting up and the banners and baricades are ready for tomorrow. It was the shortest messenger alleycat I have ever done, and I came in fifth place. Hey...not last place at least! I got first girl and first outta town!!
Some of the pros that will be there tomorrow:
Bobby Julich
Michael Rogers
Floyd Landis
George Hincapie
Fast Freddie!!!
Maybe Marty Nothstein too, but I am not sure....we shall see.
Think they can beat our time today??? Uh...Yes.
Friday, February 17, 2006
1 Post
Feb 17th- A few miles around town
1 Post is a sure bet for meeting up with old messenger friends. This is an address downtown where there is a stepped wall that is perfect for sitting and waiting for work. I rode over there first thing today and hit the jackpot. The wall was packed and I saw all the people I really wanted to see. I love surprising people!
The schedule for the Tour looks amazing and I am meeting up with Taliah (in from NY to see the tour) tomorrow to ride around and figure out where to be for the start. Looks like if I time it right, I can catch at least one more stage on the way down the coast. Very exciting time to be in Cali!
1 Post is a sure bet for meeting up with old messenger friends. This is an address downtown where there is a stepped wall that is perfect for sitting and waiting for work. I rode over there first thing today and hit the jackpot. The wall was packed and I saw all the people I really wanted to see. I love surprising people!
The schedule for the Tour looks amazing and I am meeting up with Taliah (in from NY to see the tour) tomorrow to ride around and figure out where to be for the start. Looks like if I time it right, I can catch at least one more stage on the way down the coast. Very exciting time to be in Cali!
The Bike Damage
Feb 16th - The only miles my bike did was on a truing stand
A day on the town with DanEboy and Amanda and I am feeling human again. We took the poor, beat up bike to a shop where Danny used to work and hoist it up to take a look at the damage. Worse than I thought. The rear wheel was trashed. It wasn't a great wheel to begin with, and with all the miles and weight, it would have fallen apart on the way back. A new wheel was a must. I also needed a new rear tire and new brake pads. I took apart the freewheel and cleaned every sproket. The chain was bone dry and it wasn't shifting properly because the cables needed oil. The front derailler was bent.
A good two hours later and the bike was riding like new. Bike friends are good friends to have.
A day on the town with DanEboy and Amanda and I am feeling human again. We took the poor, beat up bike to a shop where Danny used to work and hoist it up to take a look at the damage. Worse than I thought. The rear wheel was trashed. It wasn't a great wheel to begin with, and with all the miles and weight, it would have fallen apart on the way back. A new wheel was a must. I also needed a new rear tire and new brake pads. I took apart the freewheel and cleaned every sproket. The chain was bone dry and it wasn't shifting properly because the cables needed oil. The front derailler was bent.
A good two hours later and the bike was riding like new. Bike friends are good friends to have.
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
450 miles later...time for a burrito
Day 7, February 15th:
Half Moon Bay to San Francisco (Central Ave/Fell Street)- 33 miles
Made it. Just. A spoke broke in Golden Gate Park, and I hobbled into town to celebrate with two awesome friends that took me into a warm home. YES! The worst is over. Now to chill, eat burritos and take a few days off. I have to get the bike fixed, it survived the first 450 miles like a champ.
I'll try to post some pictures tomorrow...gotta do laundry first :)
Total trip (so far)= 450 miles
Total Days= 6.5
I should get a nice tail wind for the ride back south!!!
Song of the day: The Clash- I fought the Law
Half Moon Bay to San Francisco (Central Ave/Fell Street)- 33 miles
Made it. Just. A spoke broke in Golden Gate Park, and I hobbled into town to celebrate with two awesome friends that took me into a warm home. YES! The worst is over. Now to chill, eat burritos and take a few days off. I have to get the bike fixed, it survived the first 450 miles like a champ.
I'll try to post some pictures tomorrow...gotta do laundry first :)
Total trip (so far)= 450 miles
Total Days= 6.5
I should get a nice tail wind for the ride back south!!!
Song of the day: The Clash- I fought the Law
I fought the Wind and the Wind Won
Day 6, February 14th:
New Brighton to Half Moon Bay- 57.5 miles
Today was a killer. It started out really great. As soon as I hit route one out of Santa Cruz, I started to see tons of cyclists. Pro looking cyclists. I hadn't seen that many people on bikes until now (surprisingly!). Suddenly they were everywhere! I got excited, thinking they may be tied to the Tour of California that starts Sunday in SF. I originally planned to do this trip in March but bumped it up a month so I could catch the start of the Tour. Well worth fighting the cold nights of February.
As quickly as the pros appeared... poof! they were gone. Then the wind hit. I've spent the last five days laughing at all the people that warned me not to ride south to north. I ignored all warnings, figuring if I could make it up to SF then the way back would be a breeze. I really hadn't had any problems with the wind at all. Until about noon today. It hit me like a ton of bricks, reducing my speed to a virtual snails pace. At one point I was in the lowest gear pedaling really hard...on a decline. "Well" I thought, "I was warned, and they were right". I had 33 miles left to go and about four hours to do it. Sounds like enough time right? I plowed on, getting into a trance-like motion. One stroke after the other. Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse...the wind hit harder and the hills got longer. I willed myself to do it. I've done worse and knew (kind of) how to cope with it. You have to press on, no matter how slow. I talked to myself, I recited the alphabet, I thought of all my heros who have suffered much worse. I dug deep. Five o'clock rolled around and I still had ten miles to go. Could it be true? "No way" I thought. One hour left of daylight and at this rate I'm not going to make it. The sun was teasing me, threatening to disappear on me before I reached camp. "Two miles to go..okay, if I really push I can make it". The wind was howling so hard. I imagined trying to set up the tent, and in every fantasy the tent blew away. It was all I could think about. "The tent is going to f*cking blow away". The campground was right on the ocean and I was imagining another cold sleepless night. Then, one mile before that vision manifested itself, I saw a British flag flowing in the wind. "What's this?" A Pub and Inn? Hmmm...my British blood came alive. It was a beckoning. The hardass in me telling me to suck it up and find camp and the softass telling me to just "go see" about this warm bed and cold beer. It was too much for my sore back to resist. A real gem in the middle of a cold dark night. Sold! A perfect Valentines day present. Thank you Cupid.
