The riding came in a coupe of large chunks this week and last! Legs felt pretty darn good after the 100 miler a couple of weeks ago so I have taken pretty good advantage of that and the weather! Other than those two 100 degree days the weather has been great for riding. A week ago today I had the ride of the week! Mike and I along with our friend Evan (the East Coast Demo Truck Driver for Giant Bicycles) rode in Simi. We rode from Mikes house and climbed Chumash. Then climbed to the top of Rocky Peak and descended to Hummingbird Trail. I hadn't been on Hummingbird for about a year and was looking forward to the ultra technical descent. I have NEVER descended HummingBird without getting off at a point or two and walking a crazy section. Well I am happy to report that I cleaned it! I was so stoked! After descending HummingBird we climbed another steep hill and headed home! So much fun!
Tuesday of this week I went on a road ride with Drew. He needs to start some serious training for the BC Bike Race that he is racing in July. He needed to spend about 4 hours and we hit that right on the head. We left the bike shop and headed out Hidden Valley. We dropped Portrero to Camarillo and then headed out to PCH. We had been discussing which canyon to climb back to Thousand Oaks and got the CRAZY idea to climb Latigo Canyon. Latigo is a 10 mile climb with about 3000 ft of elevation gain. Pretty great climb. The crazy part was that we would be starting this climb at about mile 45! Even crazier is that there is still a lot of climbing back home once you finish Latigo! I felt pretty darn good during the climb and even better once we finished! 65 miles. 4 hours and 2 minutes. 5000 feet of climbing! Sweet!
Today was another 4 hours on the bike. On tap was a ride with my younger brother and Mom. I rode down Sycamore Canyon and met them at the beach. I totally time trialed the 2 Foxes trail and it was a blast. Once meeting up with them we climbed out Wood Canyon and then the paved road climb and hooked up with the 2 fox single track at the very top. It seemed like they really enjoyed the pay-off of the descent! We even stopped a couple of times to take pictures on a couple of jumps. (I'll post once Stephen sends them to me!) We headed back out to the beach and they took off. I filled up the bottle's and headed back towards the hills. I decided to climb Overlook and wanted to try to keep a good pace. I decided that I would not drop out of my middle ring and pushed pretty hard! I was able to push pretty hard the whole way which made me HAPPY! I dropped down the awesome Backbone trail and headed for the horrible climb back to my car. That one hurt a bit but still middle ringed the whole thing! 3:50 minutes. 38 Miles. 3200 ft of climbing!
Sweet!
Early morning ride with Mike tomorrow to close out the week!
Word!
Keep Climbing!
Friday, May 1, 2009
Sunday, April 12, 2009
100.15
100.15! That's right race fans...I knocked off a hundy yesterday and it was awesome! I drove up to Oxnard and parked at my parents house with the thought of heading towards Santa Barbara. I had all intention of making it as long as a ride as possible but you never know how brutal the wind can get heading up the coast. After a brief visit with Ma and Pa, I headed out and was pleased with how the body was feeling. I had to make a quick stop in Ventura and get some additional nutrition and then tried to pick up the pace a slight bit. There was a small cross wind but it wasn't too bad. There is a point where PCH ends and you actually have to ride on the freeway for a bit. It wasn't as bad as I thought and the road was super smooth. At one point the traffic was all backed up and I was riding faster than they were driving!
I made it to the Montecito Polo Fields and snapped a picture of them practicing. Pretty crazy watching them!
Up a short climb I passed two recumbent riders and as I started the descent one of them latched on to my back wheel and wouldn't get off. I tried riding at about 30 mph and I even slowed to about 12 mph and he just wouldn't come around or drop off. After about 4 miles he just turned around and took off the other way?! Weirdo!
I rolled into Santa Barbara feeling pretty good. The temperature was perfect being a little cool with lots of sun! I encountered this guy below on a modified electric skateboard with trailer in tow. There was a dog in the trailer! Sweet. The guy had these big wheels and the board was on some kind of axles that let him carve back and forth! All the tourists in the pedal cars just loved what they saw! It was pretty funny!
I made it t the pier and rode a bit past looking for a place to refill the bottles and stretch. I snapped a picture and sent it to my wife and my parents to let them know that I made it and got a "you're nuts" response from Kristen!
Stats for way out:
39.87 Miles-2 hours 26 minutes- 16.3 Average MPH- 145 Average Heart Rate
3/4 of a 3 Hour Bottle of Perpetuem- 3 Bottles of Water with 1 Elixer Tab each- 1 Hammer Gel- 1 Bag of Orange Wedges (Thanks Mom!)
Heading out of Santa Barbara I was happy with the way my body was feeling! Nutrition and hydration seemed to be spot on and though I was having some straining in the muscles I could hydrate and and it would go away. I seemed to be in the zone with the tempo that I was carrying and other than the few short climbs out of Santa Barbara I kept the tempo pretty quick.
It was already on my mind that if I wanted to go for 100 plus miles that I was going to need to change my route up a bit. My body was still feeling on task and I ran over 1000 route changes in my mind. I stayed on PCH heading back to Ventura and went through some pretty heavy cross wind sections. Once off the freeway section I stopped at the campground for a bottle refill, pee break and a stretch. All taken care of and back on the road. I rolled into Ventura and stayed on the bike path. I swerved through the gangsters and tourists and almost hit a few long-leashed dogs! Back to the road and a decision needed to be made! I started to work my way through the marina and headed towards Port Hueneme. I picked up a really fun bike path along the beach that was super smooth with twists and turns!
Once I got into the Channel Islands Harbor I was speeding through the neighborhoods, reached down to grab my bottle as I passed an empty lot between houses and ALMOST got blown right off of my bike! Funny thing is...5 minutes later I did it again! Though my body was hanging in, my mind was definitely starting to meander! I hit a couple dead ends and decided to head back into Oxnard. By the time I made it back to my parents neighborhood I needed 7 miles to hit 100! I wasn't going to be done until the odometer hit that number! I made the first lap around and it was about 2 miles. I decided to see just what my body had left so I punched up the volume on the iPod and hammered out 4 laps at an average speed of 21 MPH. There was a quarter mile stretch that was directly into the wind and it HURT! So good! Awesome ride and body is stiff today but not destroyed! Can' wait to ride again!
Stats for way back:
60.28 Miles- 3 Hours 35 Minutes- 16.8 Average mph- 155 Average heart rate- 1- 3 hour bottle of perpetuem- 6 bottles of water with 1 NUUN tablet each bottle- 1 bottle of water- 2 hammer gels
Keep Climbing!
Lucas
I made it to the Montecito Polo Fields and snapped a picture of them practicing. Pretty crazy watching them!
Up a short climb I passed two recumbent riders and as I started the descent one of them latched on to my back wheel and wouldn't get off. I tried riding at about 30 mph and I even slowed to about 12 mph and he just wouldn't come around or drop off. After about 4 miles he just turned around and took off the other way?! Weirdo!
I rolled into Santa Barbara feeling pretty good. The temperature was perfect being a little cool with lots of sun! I encountered this guy below on a modified electric skateboard with trailer in tow. There was a dog in the trailer! Sweet. The guy had these big wheels and the board was on some kind of axles that let him carve back and forth! All the tourists in the pedal cars just loved what they saw! It was pretty funny!
I made it t the pier and rode a bit past looking for a place to refill the bottles and stretch. I snapped a picture and sent it to my wife and my parents to let them know that I made it and got a "you're nuts" response from Kristen!
Stats for way out:
39.87 Miles-2 hours 26 minutes- 16.3 Average MPH- 145 Average Heart Rate
3/4 of a 3 Hour Bottle of Perpetuem- 3 Bottles of Water with 1 Elixer Tab each- 1 Hammer Gel- 1 Bag of Orange Wedges (Thanks Mom!)
Heading out of Santa Barbara I was happy with the way my body was feeling! Nutrition and hydration seemed to be spot on and though I was having some straining in the muscles I could hydrate and and it would go away. I seemed to be in the zone with the tempo that I was carrying and other than the few short climbs out of Santa Barbara I kept the tempo pretty quick.
It was already on my mind that if I wanted to go for 100 plus miles that I was going to need to change my route up a bit. My body was still feeling on task and I ran over 1000 route changes in my mind. I stayed on PCH heading back to Ventura and went through some pretty heavy cross wind sections. Once off the freeway section I stopped at the campground for a bottle refill, pee break and a stretch. All taken care of and back on the road. I rolled into Ventura and stayed on the bike path. I swerved through the gangsters and tourists and almost hit a few long-leashed dogs! Back to the road and a decision needed to be made! I started to work my way through the marina and headed towards Port Hueneme. I picked up a really fun bike path along the beach that was super smooth with twists and turns!
Once I got into the Channel Islands Harbor I was speeding through the neighborhoods, reached down to grab my bottle as I passed an empty lot between houses and ALMOST got blown right off of my bike! Funny thing is...5 minutes later I did it again! Though my body was hanging in, my mind was definitely starting to meander! I hit a couple dead ends and decided to head back into Oxnard. By the time I made it back to my parents neighborhood I needed 7 miles to hit 100! I wasn't going to be done until the odometer hit that number! I made the first lap around and it was about 2 miles. I decided to see just what my body had left so I punched up the volume on the iPod and hammered out 4 laps at an average speed of 21 MPH. There was a quarter mile stretch that was directly into the wind and it HURT! So good! Awesome ride and body is stiff today but not destroyed! Can' wait to ride again!
Stats for way back:
60.28 Miles- 3 Hours 35 Minutes- 16.8 Average mph- 155 Average heart rate- 1- 3 hour bottle of perpetuem- 6 bottles of water with 1 NUUN tablet each bottle- 1 bottle of water- 2 hammer gels
Keep Climbing!
Lucas
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Holy Freaking Bee's!
So Giant Bicycles had a demo in my local hills today. Mike has a cousin looking for a bike so HE HAD A PLAN! Yikes! A little extended test ride was the goal that they shot down as soon as we arrived. Our friend Evan is the normal Demo truck driver but he was out of state with the other truck so we were out of luck. Not to worry, Mike had his wife drop off his bike and I had brought mine with me. After a loop on the Anthem X2 we turned the bikes in and said goodbye to the cousin. We mounted our trusty steeds and hit the trail with big climbing plans.
We headed out from Simi Valley and kind of hugged the edge of the lower mountain as we made our way to Thousand Oaks! We hit the trailhead off of Avenida De Los Arboles and started our long first ascent! This is a somewhat technical climb that I have done only once with Mike before and all I could think of was this one pitch that is over 30% grade! I did well as long as I kept a steady pace. The climbing loop we had done on the demo bikes was already weighing on my legs and I realized that I had forgotten to bring any food! When we finally hit the steep pitch I made it about halfway up before bailing. Mike made it all the way up as he usually does! Jerk! From there the descent pretty much started and it is a great technical descent with rocks, drops, water breaks, and other craziness! We got to the craziest part and Mike dropped it after taking a good look. I started to drop in and freaked a little. Mike yelled that I better turn around and try again so I did. I swallowed hard and rolled down it with no problem!
This trail drops you into the backyard of many of the rich and famous. The houses are unreal and the trail was in great condition. We made it to Lindero Canyon Road in Oak Park, (right above my apartment) and then made our way to Dead Cow. I was hurting pretty good and was really starting to worry about what we had left between us and my car back in Simi Valley. I suffered 3/4 of the way up Dead Cow as I watched Mike fall into a groove and ride away from me! When the trail turns less technical 3/4 of the way up, I found a pace and cruised right up. We made the loop at the top and I was really in the hurt worrying about the climb home.
We made the decision before dropping Albertson Motorway that we would follow the same lower mountain trail back to he car. That left only about 300 ft. of climbing and made me feel a little better! Once we hit the top of the steady climb we were home free and started flying towards the car. About 300 yards before the parking lot it happened....WHACK! Right in the forehead! It looked and FELT to big to be a bee and I was stunned! I could still feel it moving in the hole of my helmet but I was going to fast to take my hand off the bars. Then it bit/stung/scratched me and I hit the brakes. I ripped off my helmet to see this fall out:
Ummmm... I was a little freaked out. I kept touching my head to make sure that there wasn't major swelling. The "Thing" could not fly away because he was obviously injured. He was about as large as 50 cent piece and not pretty! Mike finally realized that I wasn't behind him and rode back to see what was going on. I felt better when he said that my forehead looked okay, just a red mark. Pretty crazy! We hit up The Hat for lunch and destroyed a Roast Beef sandwich and Chili Cheese Fries! I was decimated! Great ride. I won't ride without food again!
We headed out from Simi Valley and kind of hugged the edge of the lower mountain as we made our way to Thousand Oaks! We hit the trailhead off of Avenida De Los Arboles and started our long first ascent! This is a somewhat technical climb that I have done only once with Mike before and all I could think of was this one pitch that is over 30% grade! I did well as long as I kept a steady pace. The climbing loop we had done on the demo bikes was already weighing on my legs and I realized that I had forgotten to bring any food! When we finally hit the steep pitch I made it about halfway up before bailing. Mike made it all the way up as he usually does! Jerk! From there the descent pretty much started and it is a great technical descent with rocks, drops, water breaks, and other craziness! We got to the craziest part and Mike dropped it after taking a good look. I started to drop in and freaked a little. Mike yelled that I better turn around and try again so I did. I swallowed hard and rolled down it with no problem!
This trail drops you into the backyard of many of the rich and famous. The houses are unreal and the trail was in great condition. We made it to Lindero Canyon Road in Oak Park, (right above my apartment) and then made our way to Dead Cow. I was hurting pretty good and was really starting to worry about what we had left between us and my car back in Simi Valley. I suffered 3/4 of the way up Dead Cow as I watched Mike fall into a groove and ride away from me! When the trail turns less technical 3/4 of the way up, I found a pace and cruised right up. We made the loop at the top and I was really in the hurt worrying about the climb home.
We made the decision before dropping Albertson Motorway that we would follow the same lower mountain trail back to he car. That left only about 300 ft. of climbing and made me feel a little better! Once we hit the top of the steady climb we were home free and started flying towards the car. About 300 yards before the parking lot it happened....WHACK! Right in the forehead! It looked and FELT to big to be a bee and I was stunned! I could still feel it moving in the hole of my helmet but I was going to fast to take my hand off the bars. Then it bit/stung/scratched me and I hit the brakes. I ripped off my helmet to see this fall out:
Ummmm... I was a little freaked out. I kept touching my head to make sure that there wasn't major swelling. The "Thing" could not fly away because he was obviously injured. He was about as large as 50 cent piece and not pretty! Mike finally realized that I wasn't behind him and rode back to see what was going on. I felt better when he said that my forehead looked okay, just a red mark. Pretty crazy! We hit up The Hat for lunch and destroyed a Roast Beef sandwich and Chili Cheese Fries! I was decimated! Great ride. I won't ride without food again!
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Parentals, God's Beautiful Green Earth, Deer, 3 Flats All in a Great Week
Overlook
Holy smokes! Tons to report! My riding started last Sunday with an hour in the brutal wind! Legs were a little tired after the day at the Fillmore skate park opening! Monday I needed some solitude and headed out to Sycamore Canyon for a 3+ hour ride. The goal was to not cook myself early and shoot for 4 hours. Legs felt really good, there was a slight cool breeze and there was almost no one out! I dropped into the hill, flew down 2 Fox trail and then headed up Guadalajasco then down Backbone trail. From there I headed out to the beach for a look at the waves and a refill of fluids and Hammer Perpetuem. As I started up Overlook I was surprised that they had been bulldozing it and it was as wide as the 405! Overlook is a 6.8 mile fireroad climb that is a nice steady grind. The bulldozing was about 5.5 miles up and it made some sections BRUTAL. It was like riding uphill in sand! After a while, I was at the top and had the reward of descending Guadalajasco! So much fun! I started out Wood Canyon and headed up the backside. I was entering the pain locker after the deep dirt climb and decided to head out instead of the one last climb I had planned. So dropping the last single track trail I came around a corner a little to fast and almost washed out! When I looked up I had two beautiful deer were staring me in the face. Cool! I still had he gnarly witch to climb back up to my car and I was quickly deteriorating. I made it and I had logged 3 hours and 40 minutes with 4025 ft. of climbing over 31 miles! Close to the 4 hours! I was a blast and I was destroyed. I had stopped by a bike shop to get a packet of recovery drink and they had no packets! Hmmmm, In and Out is in the parking lot! Double Double was on tap and it was GOOD! About 5 minutes after inhaling that I started to feel a serious rumble and thought, hmmmm, maybe not the best idea! It passed!
2 Deer
Tuesday I headed up to Oxnard to go on a ride with the parents. With the heavy wind at the beach we decided to ride to Ojai and back! Mom took off like a rocket as usual so Pop and I tried to keep up. Legs were tired but fared very well for the 30 mile ride! At one point my Dad through down a little speed challenge so I took off only to watch him BLOW by me moments later! What?!?!?!?!?! He hammered me! We hadd a greeat ride and it was awesome to spend some time with them!
Mom and Pop
Wed. was an early morning photo shoot for Honey at the new skatepark! The grand opening was so crowded we decided to hit it early in the morning on a weekday! It was a blast!
Fillmore Skate Park
Mike had been dying to ride so Thursday morning we hit an early loop in Simi Valley! Legs felt suprisingly good and we HAMMERED up Lajas Canyon and then I suffered up the connecting climb to Chumash! Another great ride with beautiful weather!
Friday I did not expect to ride but after arriving home from a funeral (Welcome Home Mitsu Lankford!) I had about an hour to spare and decided to do a race loop through Chesebro. I managed to keep a pace that was at about 90% to 105% effort! I was pleased with the pace and the legs felt pretty good! I can't say that they felt all that great later in the evening though!
Guadalajasco
This morning Mike had the idea to get in a 3 hour ride in Sycamore Canyon. Now I loves me some hours in the saddle but I know that Mike was going to want to climb....a lot! I was a little worried but of course down to give it a shot! We met at the trailhead at 8 and there were probably 30 cars! Mike waited until we had dropped into the canyon before telling me what he had on tap! First trail was normal...but then...he uttered two words that I hate to hear! Coyote Trail! Ohhh crap! Coyote trail is about 900 feet of gnarly technical climbing with some short rises that are about 30% grade! Then after all the climbing there is ultra tech downhill that opens up into a GREAT flowy section that drops out onto Two Foxes. From there we headed up Sage Trail (more climbing) then down into Wood Canyon. They had done some bulldozing so you had to pay close attention! Next we climbed Guadalajasco at a great pace and then started our FLIGHT down Backbone. Right after passing two slower riders I heard PHSSSSSHHHHH! Flat! Bummer. Put in a new tube and jumped back on the bike only to hear PHSSSSHHHHHH 100 yards later! Two flats in 100 yards! Yikes! The mosquitos ate us alive as I changed the flats! From there we headed out both pretty destroyed! Up the witch and we were back at the car! Chipotle to refuel and a beautiful end to a great week of saddle time!
Grace and Peace.
Holy smokes! Tons to report! My riding started last Sunday with an hour in the brutal wind! Legs were a little tired after the day at the Fillmore skate park opening! Monday I needed some solitude and headed out to Sycamore Canyon for a 3+ hour ride. The goal was to not cook myself early and shoot for 4 hours. Legs felt really good, there was a slight cool breeze and there was almost no one out! I dropped into the hill, flew down 2 Fox trail and then headed up Guadalajasco then down Backbone trail. From there I headed out to the beach for a look at the waves and a refill of fluids and Hammer Perpetuem. As I started up Overlook I was surprised that they had been bulldozing it and it was as wide as the 405! Overlook is a 6.8 mile fireroad climb that is a nice steady grind. The bulldozing was about 5.5 miles up and it made some sections BRUTAL. It was like riding uphill in sand! After a while, I was at the top and had the reward of descending Guadalajasco! So much fun! I started out Wood Canyon and headed up the backside. I was entering the pain locker after the deep dirt climb and decided to head out instead of the one last climb I had planned. So dropping the last single track trail I came around a corner a little to fast and almost washed out! When I looked up I had two beautiful deer were staring me in the face. Cool! I still had he gnarly witch to climb back up to my car and I was quickly deteriorating. I made it and I had logged 3 hours and 40 minutes with 4025 ft. of climbing over 31 miles! Close to the 4 hours! I was a blast and I was destroyed. I had stopped by a bike shop to get a packet of recovery drink and they had no packets! Hmmmm, In and Out is in the parking lot! Double Double was on tap and it was GOOD! About 5 minutes after inhaling that I started to feel a serious rumble and thought, hmmmm, maybe not the best idea! It passed!
2 Deer
Tuesday I headed up to Oxnard to go on a ride with the parents. With the heavy wind at the beach we decided to ride to Ojai and back! Mom took off like a rocket as usual so Pop and I tried to keep up. Legs were tired but fared very well for the 30 mile ride! At one point my Dad through down a little speed challenge so I took off only to watch him BLOW by me moments later! What?!?!?!?!?! He hammered me! We hadd a greeat ride and it was awesome to spend some time with them!
Mom and Pop
Wed. was an early morning photo shoot for Honey at the new skatepark! The grand opening was so crowded we decided to hit it early in the morning on a weekday! It was a blast!
Fillmore Skate Park
Mike had been dying to ride so Thursday morning we hit an early loop in Simi Valley! Legs felt suprisingly good and we HAMMERED up Lajas Canyon and then I suffered up the connecting climb to Chumash! Another great ride with beautiful weather!
Friday I did not expect to ride but after arriving home from a funeral (Welcome Home Mitsu Lankford!) I had about an hour to spare and decided to do a race loop through Chesebro. I managed to keep a pace that was at about 90% to 105% effort! I was pleased with the pace and the legs felt pretty good! I can't say that they felt all that great later in the evening though!
Guadalajasco
This morning Mike had the idea to get in a 3 hour ride in Sycamore Canyon. Now I loves me some hours in the saddle but I know that Mike was going to want to climb....a lot! I was a little worried but of course down to give it a shot! We met at the trailhead at 8 and there were probably 30 cars! Mike waited until we had dropped into the canyon before telling me what he had on tap! First trail was normal...but then...he uttered two words that I hate to hear! Coyote Trail! Ohhh crap! Coyote trail is about 900 feet of gnarly technical climbing with some short rises that are about 30% grade! Then after all the climbing there is ultra tech downhill that opens up into a GREAT flowy section that drops out onto Two Foxes. From there we headed up Sage Trail (more climbing) then down into Wood Canyon. They had done some bulldozing so you had to pay close attention! Next we climbed Guadalajasco at a great pace and then started our FLIGHT down Backbone. Right after passing two slower riders I heard PHSSSSSHHHHH! Flat! Bummer. Put in a new tube and jumped back on the bike only to hear PHSSSSHHHHHH 100 yards later! Two flats in 100 yards! Yikes! The mosquitos ate us alive as I changed the flats! From there we headed out both pretty destroyed! Up the witch and we were back at the car! Chipotle to refuel and a beautiful end to a great week of saddle time!
Grace and Peace.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
3 Days
3 days of riding! So awesome! Thursday afternoon I climbed Dead Cow Trail spending a little over an hour on the mountain bike. Friday was finally a day for some hefty mileage. I drove over to Pacific Coast Highway with the road bike and parked at Leo Carrillo State Beach. The plan was to ride to Venice Beach about thirty miles down the coast and then back. It was a little chilly but that worked to my benefit I'm sure! The beach was beautiful and the waves were pumping pretty good! There was a slight headwind (I thought) and I was looking forward to turning around and having a tail wind. (I wished!) From where I parked there is about 900 feet of climbing on the way out and 1100 feet on the way back.... after 50 miles!
It was great to get to Santa Monica and pass the pier and finally get on the bike path! Lots of interesting people! Venice was also an eyeful! I finally turned around at the end of Venice and I had traveled a little over 30 miles in 1 hour and 39 minutes. As soon as I turned around I knew that I was in trouble! The wind had picked up considerably and was coming off the ocean directly at me! Holy smokes! About 5 miles into this I started feeling cramps form! I said a few prayers and stopped to fill up my bottles. I downed a bottle and after refilling I headed back out. I was able to keep a pretty steady pace but the wind had dropped my speed by about 3 MPH. Whenever I was right along the water the wind just drilled me. So much so that my first big descent that should have been 40+ MPH, was like 25! I tried to stretch as I rode and just continued to pray that God would help me make it the 20 miles I still had left!
I was feeling OK and got to the last 6 miles that I would have to climb close to 1100 ft. As I hit the first big hill passing Zuma Beach I stood up only to have BOTH of my legs lock up so bad that I almost fell over! I sat/fell back to my seat and picked an easier pace. Another prayer and I managed o make it up the hill. I was really starting to worry about getting back to my car and having to step off of my bike! Slowly but surely I came around the corner from my car and was relieved! As I stepped off of my bike I had no issues (thank you Lord!) It had taken me 30 minutes longer to ride back than it had to ride out! Super fun! A little over 3 hours and 45 minutes. Sweet!
This morning I felt better than I thought that I would which was good because a ride with my Dad and Justin was on tap after the mens breakfast at church. My Dad and I rode from the church out to Malibu Creek State Park where we met up with Justin. It was pretty freaking cold but we had a blast. On the way back to the church my Dad and I rode up Mulholland to Cornell which was a great climb! Another two hours on the bike and it felt great! Hopefully I can keep it up! It felt good to ride for so long yesterday!
Climb Hard,
Lucas
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Tour of California Time Trial Solvang
Tour de France 08 Winner Carlos Sastre
My parents invited me to go to the Amgen Tour of California time trial stage in Solvang yesterday and I jumped at the chance! It's just a short drive for us and we hit very little traffic through Santa Barbara for a Friday morning. We arrived and caught a shuttle into town. We arrived about 2 hors from the start time and the town was already filling with spectators out to see the race and or Lance Armstrong. As we walked down Team Row we first came upon Team Saxo Banks TT bikes! Beautiful Specialized Transitions. Then we walked up on the Garmin camp and were treated to Christian Vande Velde getting ready to pre-ride the course. He's definately one of my favorites!
Christian Vande Velde
Next was the "Rock is not Dead" Rock Racing area. Tyler Hamilton was being interviewed by someone and then was very gracious to sign some autographs for the crowd. It was kind of funny the dress of the crowd hanging around the Rock Racing area. It was very Hollywood!
Tyler Hamilton Being Interviewed
We had walked by the Quick Step area a couple of times and there was always a group of ladies waiting for a look at Tom Boonen. When we walked up again he had just finished warming up and was heading into his RV with a gaggle of ladies in tow! It made for a great pic for me though!
Tornado Tom Boonen
We finally walked into the Astana camp. Johan was out doing interviews and Levi's wife and parents were also walking around with his little chihuahua. The team cars also pulled up with Levi and Lances TT bikes. What a sight!
Levi's Family and Beloved Dog
We walked through the expo area and then went and found a great spot about 125m from the start house. It was cool to watch my parents experience the race. They were so big eyed and full of joy! I felt the same way but it was inspiring to see their excitement. We watched the first 20 or so fly by at full speed and snapped a few pics. Here is a great one:
Tyler Hamilton at the Start
We then took off towards the finish to try to find a good spot. We found a great spot on some stairs and decided to eat the great lunch that moms brought! I took tons of pictures as the riders flew by to the finish. We were about 300m to the finish. We tried to get a little closer but just couldn't find as sweet as a spot so we then headed back. Floyd Landis was open mouthed as he passed by. Hurting. Ouch. Get it?
Floyd Landis Hammering it Home
As it was about time for Lance to come through and the crowd started filling in! It was getting pretty intense! There were even folks climbing into trees to get a good look!
People Waiting for a Glimpse!
We could sporadically hear the crappy announcers and we knew that Lance was a little over a minute behind the Zabriski. But when he came by the crowd went TOTALLY INSANE! Awesome!
The Man..The Legend..Lance Armstrong
Zabriski was on pace to beat Levi's course record but we knew at the time split Levi had 8 seconds on him. Barring a catastrophe a course record was coming! Zabriski was flying so smooth as he passed.
David Zabriski Briefly Setting The Course Record
At one point they had reported that Michael Rogers was 2 minutes ahead at the time check and the crowd was BUMMED! A few seconds later they came back on the radio and said that there was a mistake and there was no way that could be right! He was totally moving when he flew by us! He ended up 4th on the day.
Michael Rogers 300m From Finish
With Zabriski on the board with a record time we only awaited Levi! As he came over the hill the crowd got louder and louder! He was in the zone, opened mouthed but smooth as he FLEW by! 1st place! Levi Strong! Just as Lance said!
Levi 300m From Winning
We were all on a high of what we had just witnessed and the whole crowd was buzzing. We headed over towards the Astana bus and were treated to Lance cooling down as he downloaded to his coach Chris Carmichael and Johan. Chris Horner was signing autographs and the crowd was a little crazy. Everyone (including myself) wanted a peek at Lance! It was cool!
Lance Cooling Down
Our very amazing day was capped off by an hour wait for the shuttle. Only to be topped by an HOUR 4 mile ride back to our car! Only yet to be topped by a horrendous drive through Gaviota, Goleta, Santa Barbara, and finally Carpentaria! It gave us all a great chance to go over all the amazing things we saw and experienced through the day! Thanks Ma and Pa! I had a great time! Way to OWN it Levi!
Keep Climbing,
Lucas
My parents invited me to go to the Amgen Tour of California time trial stage in Solvang yesterday and I jumped at the chance! It's just a short drive for us and we hit very little traffic through Santa Barbara for a Friday morning. We arrived and caught a shuttle into town. We arrived about 2 hors from the start time and the town was already filling with spectators out to see the race and or Lance Armstrong. As we walked down Team Row we first came upon Team Saxo Banks TT bikes! Beautiful Specialized Transitions. Then we walked up on the Garmin camp and were treated to Christian Vande Velde getting ready to pre-ride the course. He's definately one of my favorites!
Christian Vande Velde
Next was the "Rock is not Dead" Rock Racing area. Tyler Hamilton was being interviewed by someone and then was very gracious to sign some autographs for the crowd. It was kind of funny the dress of the crowd hanging around the Rock Racing area. It was very Hollywood!
Tyler Hamilton Being Interviewed
We had walked by the Quick Step area a couple of times and there was always a group of ladies waiting for a look at Tom Boonen. When we walked up again he had just finished warming up and was heading into his RV with a gaggle of ladies in tow! It made for a great pic for me though!
Tornado Tom Boonen
We finally walked into the Astana camp. Johan was out doing interviews and Levi's wife and parents were also walking around with his little chihuahua. The team cars also pulled up with Levi and Lances TT bikes. What a sight!
Levi's Family and Beloved Dog
We walked through the expo area and then went and found a great spot about 125m from the start house. It was cool to watch my parents experience the race. They were so big eyed and full of joy! I felt the same way but it was inspiring to see their excitement. We watched the first 20 or so fly by at full speed and snapped a few pics. Here is a great one:
Tyler Hamilton at the Start
We then took off towards the finish to try to find a good spot. We found a great spot on some stairs and decided to eat the great lunch that moms brought! I took tons of pictures as the riders flew by to the finish. We were about 300m to the finish. We tried to get a little closer but just couldn't find as sweet as a spot so we then headed back. Floyd Landis was open mouthed as he passed by. Hurting. Ouch. Get it?
Floyd Landis Hammering it Home
As it was about time for Lance to come through and the crowd started filling in! It was getting pretty intense! There were even folks climbing into trees to get a good look!
People Waiting for a Glimpse!
We could sporadically hear the crappy announcers and we knew that Lance was a little over a minute behind the Zabriski. But when he came by the crowd went TOTALLY INSANE! Awesome!
The Man..The Legend..Lance Armstrong
Zabriski was on pace to beat Levi's course record but we knew at the time split Levi had 8 seconds on him. Barring a catastrophe a course record was coming! Zabriski was flying so smooth as he passed.
David Zabriski Briefly Setting The Course Record
At one point they had reported that Michael Rogers was 2 minutes ahead at the time check and the crowd was BUMMED! A few seconds later they came back on the radio and said that there was a mistake and there was no way that could be right! He was totally moving when he flew by us! He ended up 4th on the day.
Michael Rogers 300m From Finish
With Zabriski on the board with a record time we only awaited Levi! As he came over the hill the crowd got louder and louder! He was in the zone, opened mouthed but smooth as he FLEW by! 1st place! Levi Strong! Just as Lance said!
Levi 300m From Winning
We were all on a high of what we had just witnessed and the whole crowd was buzzing. We headed over towards the Astana bus and were treated to Lance cooling down as he downloaded to his coach Chris Carmichael and Johan. Chris Horner was signing autographs and the crowd was a little crazy. Everyone (including myself) wanted a peek at Lance! It was cool!
Lance Cooling Down
Our very amazing day was capped off by an hour wait for the shuttle. Only to be topped by an HOUR 4 mile ride back to our car! Only yet to be topped by a horrendous drive through Gaviota, Goleta, Santa Barbara, and finally Carpentaria! It gave us all a great chance to go over all the amazing things we saw and experienced through the day! Thanks Ma and Pa! I had a great time! Way to OWN it Levi!
Keep Climbing,
Lucas
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
