After the long heat wave, it was a relief to wake to the overcast morning for our jaunt to Freedom/Corralitos in Santa Cruz County. I was joined by ALC friends Michael H. and Keith W. along with potential new DSSF members Chris T. and Jeremy J., who met last weekend on Stephanie’s East Bay BART to BART ride. Chris drove over from Fresno and Jeremy drove down from the City, pretty much a toss-up on who drove the furthest!

We headed out Union Road and across the valley, bypassing busy Highway 156. While we were spared heat, we were not spared of headwinds, which is unusual for the morning heading west. We zig-zagged around San Juan Bautista, coming up on the backside of McAlpine Lake & Park where Anzar Road begins the easy ascent to Carr Avenue and the short climb to the top, followed by the descent down to Carpenteria Road and in to Aromas, where the librarian allowed us use of the facilities, before contining on our trek.

From Aromas, we got on Riverside Road Highway 129 for a couple miles, and then on to Carlton Road and more zig-zagging, and crossing Hecker Pass Highway 152 onto Casserly Road. This took us to Green Valley Road and after a few more turns, we arrive in Freedom, where four of us opted for Mexican food, and one opted for a sandwich from the grocery store. A few quick photos, before heading to Corralitos; Chris had headed out ahead of us to get a head start on the climb up Hazel Dell Road.

Hazel Dell Road has it’s memories for me, as my family owned 48 acres in the area known as Game Cock Canyon Ranch. This climb is actually higher than Carr Avenue, fortunately it’s not as steep.

The descent down Hazel Dell Road puts us on the lower portion of Mt. Madonna Road before we arrive at Casserly Road, and after a quick water refill, we continued on the return portion, onto Carlton Road again, and then east on Riverside Road Highway 129, and then to Aromas.

The climb up Carr Avenue heading home is the steeper and longer climb. I had told Bill that I would call him from Aromas, to give him a heads up on our estimated ETA back home. After starting the climb, I realized that since we didn’t stop in Aromas, I had forgot to call him, so I pulled off in a driveway to call him quickly. It also gave me a chance to catch my breath, as I was unable to keep up with Michael, Keith and Jeremy. I figured I had better call while I was thinking of it, because if I thought I was going to do it at the top, I’d have forgotten to, from relief of getting to the top and heading back down hill.

The jaunt back around San Juan Bautista this time found nice tail winds, and I noticed that I was averaging between 18-24 mph. The GPS route can be viewed at MotionBased.com where you can view detailed metrics of the ride or run it on a map player.

We returned home and Bill was in final preparations for the BBQ. Chris changed and headed on to the City, so as not to run into any of the Garlic Festival traffic. The rest of us took our showers and then relaxed and began refueling and rehydrating with tortilla chips and Michael’s guacamole and bean dip,and a bottle of Sterling Diamond Mountain Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon. Before we knew it, Bill had dinner ready, BBQ tri-tip, BBQ ahi tuna, cheesy garlic bread, grilled asparagus and bell peppers and a couple pasta salads, topped off with Joseph Schmidt truffles for dessert.

Congratulation to Jeremy for success on his longest road ride yet! Great job!! And thanks again all for making the trek to Hollister and joining me for the ride! I very much enjoyed the company!

Today’s Flash Ride netted three participants-the usual Conzelman suspects of Erik, Mark H and yours truly. We started in Orinda shortly after 9am, where the skies were clearing to blue with nice mild temps. Perfect riding weather! We followed the route of the Grizzly Peak Century from May. You gotta love routes with painted arrows on the road too-a very good thing for the directionally-challenged such as me! 🙂

Los tres Conzelman hombres took a nice swift tour through Orinda, Rheem Valley, Moraga, and the little hamlet of Canyon before heading up Skyline and Grizzly Peak in thick, dense (but warm) fog – very moorish. After the always fun screaming descent down Wildcat Canyon we went up San Pablo Dam Road and then on roads I’ve never ridden. Gotta love finding new bike territory after all these year too!! We rode through the forgotten towns of Pinole and Hercules and opted for a lunch of Extreme Pizza and Starbucks Coffee instead of the farmer’s market produce in Pinole (no Tour d’Organics this).

Along San Pablo Bay the ride got decidedly industrial…refineries, speeding traffic and tankers on the Carquinez Strait. A quick descent through Crocket and Port Costa and then up a little bitch of a hill called McEwen Road en route to Martinez. By this time the weather was warm but pleasantly so and Mark quickly found his was back to the route (thank allah for those arrows!). And still more new territory through the beautiful Alhambra Valley and then the perennial favorite of the Tres Osos. By this time, at 75 miles and nearly 6,000 feet of climbing, Mark and Erik had enough and departed back at the Orinda BART.

Eager to complete my 9th century of the year and make up for the three that got washed out in the spring, I soldiered on back through Orinda and Moraga. When stopping at the Moraga Safeway, I discovered making a contribution to the people outside the entrance is a great way to have someone watch your bike while you buy water and snacks. I’ve just gotta say it was kinda funny hearing all the Moraga housewive’s excuses for NOT donating to the battered women’s shelter.

Anyway, back to Canyon and then a turn the other way on Pinehurst to the south. Those of you who did David’s May Lafayette/Sunol route will remember this part of the ride. But then instead of a left on Redwood, I made the right and then a left on Skyline for 10 enjoyable elevated miles through swanky parts of Oakland I’d never ridden, including Grass Valley and the Oakland Zoo.

The Grizzly Peak Century is a bit of a misnomer. It is put on in May by the Grizzly Peak Cyclists and consists of the first loop we did (75 miles) plus the second loop I started. Unfortunately, their advertised mileage and elevation were both a little lower than actual. It appears the actual “Grizzly Peak Century” is 115 miles and has 9,200 feet of climbing according to Klimb. By the time I reached San Leandro at mile 99, I faced a fork in the road: Castro Valley BART a mile to the right, or Redwood Road and 15 more miles and 1,200 more feet of climbing back to Orinda (those of you on David’s May ride will no doubt recall Redwood Road). Even the fact that there was a Peet’s Coffee en route couldn’t distract me from the siren call of the BART train.

Thank buddha for BART! Not only a nap on the ride back home to the city, but the option to change plans mid-ride!

If anyone is interested in doing this ride (or at least some substantial part of it) sometime later this season, let me know. I had a blast and could be persuaded to post it again. Who needs an organized ride and active.com for a century, huh?

The reach of Different Spokes knows no limit! I am happy to report two more medals for a DSSF member, one gold one bronze..

…in Badminton.

Indeed, Ron got one gold medals in the Men Single and one bronze in the Mized Double with his partner Laura.

It’s been a while since we’ve posted a ride report on C-Loop Thursdays, but this mid-week afterwork ride is still going strong thanks to the leadership of Bill Bir and Erik Leung. I joined today for the first time in a while, leaving from home instead of downtown, and met Bill, Erik, and Mark enroute in the headlands. Today was a perfect day for riding. A bit of cooling fog, not much traffic (bike or car), and not too much wind.

I have to admit, I got a bit spooked the last time I led this ride by the winds that were gusting that day on the bridge. The tornado-like swirls in particular around the two towers can be a bit hairy, quite different from the usually calm winds we encounter on the Jersey Ride and other morning bridge crossings. Fortunately, bike traffic is typically light in the afternoon, and there are rarely any tourists on rental bikes.

But please don’t let the wind stop you from joining DSSF on Thursdays! The ride leaves from the Ferry Building at 6:00 p.m. Meet at the pedestrian island between the Embarcadero, near the crosswalk from Market Street. The ride takes one of a couple routes through the Fisherman’s Wharf area, along Crissy Field, up to and across the bridge, up and down Conzelman, and up McCullough. Bill and Erik usually make a couple more loops. Heck, I’m posting this at 10:15 p.m., and for all I know those guys are still out there looping around!

C-Loop Thursdays continue through the summer and into early fall, as long as the longer daylight provides for enough safe riding time. Remember, the fog can make it somewhat dark pretty quickly up there and on the bridge. So even if it is bright and sunny in SF, it is a good idea to bring a red-blinky light just in case.

Today was the individual time trial. We set out for the Palos Forest Preserve SW of Chicago. It is a 45 minute trip from downtown Chicago. We got driven there in style in a good old-fashioned yellow schoolbus!

The course was a somewhat hilly, 11 mile, banana shaped (or as Jerome said “croissant-shaped”) scenic (not) but challenging ride.

Great days were had by Derek L, Don D and Mike Y. Who appear to be in line for Gold, Gold and Silver medals (respectively). While our times were posted today

Jerome T., Joe L., Lance H. and Dave G. had good days with times of 32:20, 32:54, 32:56 and 33:37 but our age category had some blisteringly fast times less than 30:00 including one less than 27:00!!!

Big Kudos to Roy S. He borrowed his friends car and made the trek out to Palos. He was DSSF’s cheerleader-in-chief and volunteered at the turn-around point. Thanks to you for coming out to support us and the event.

BTW: It was f&*&^%ing hot and humid today.

Tomorrow will be the medal ceremony for the individual time trial and also the road race which should be a lot of fun.

We’ll keep you posted!!

Live in Chicago this is Dave Glidden reporting……

Today we had medals for 3 DSSF members in the criterium!

Gold for Don D. in the 60+ Men’s. All riders 50+ rode together and Don won against all 50+ riders.

Bronze for Joe L’s boyfriend Mark Y. in 50-60 Men’s.

Bronze for Jerome T. 40-44 Men’s.

All riders 40-49 rode (all 35 of them) rode together. Jerome was 4th overall (but 3rd in 40-44). Dave G. and Joe L. were 6th and 7th, respectively!

Jerome’s number was misread and they had him listed as 14th in the final results. After a lot of work, they straightened it out. He got his bronze!!

Congratulations to Jerome, Mark and Don!

The Tom Waddell Award for outstanding Gay Games participation is presented by the Federation of Gay Games every four years to individuals who have demonstrated a history of outstanding service in the arts, athletics or volunteerism.

Derek Liecty was honored at the Opening Ceremonies at Soldier Field in Chicago as the male recipient of the 2006 award. Derek gave a brief acceptance speech in front of tens of thousands of participants and spectators.

Derek has been contributing to the success of the Gay Games since it’s beginning in 1982 in San Francisco and has been involved in the organization of every one since then, as well as competing in most of not all of these. He has been a board member for the Federation of Gay Games for many, many years,
and continues as a lifetime honorary board member. This year, among other contributions, he has been actively involved in the scholarship committee, which has provided assistance to over 100 athletes from around the world who may not otherwise been able to attend, which impacts not only these individuals but their communities back home.

Congratulations, Derek!!

Jerome” s Motion Based info is very cool! I may have to take my cycling technophilia/geekness up a notch and purchase a GPS myself instead of always asking Jerome, Jaime and David what our elevation gain on a ride is. Personally, I am still waiting for a helmet-mounted camera with a shutter control wired into the gear shift though.

For those of you who have never done the death ride, don’t let the fact that a little rain (OK, a whole lot…Bart and I were soaked too when we got back to my car) fell in the last few miles deter you from signing up for the lottery for this AWESOME ride next year! According to Bart, this is the first time in about 10 years that it has rained at all. About 3,000 riders do the Death Ride, with some number just over 1/2 doing all 5 passes.

Aside from Jerome, Anne Hall, and Bart and I all completed this year’s DR. Jerome’s motion-based info gives you a good view of the profile and the map of the route, but it can’t give you an appreciation for how truly beautiful this part of the Sierras is.

Bart and I started riding about 6am and it was already light and warm enough to need nothing other than shorts and a jersey. In honor of the native alpine creatures, I wore my Cal Bears jersey, much to my Stanford friend’s chagrin. DR starts off deceptively enough with a steep descent of about 500 feet until the climb up Monitor Pass begins. Another one of the great things about DR is that Monitor and Ebbet’s Pass are completely closed off to vehicular traffic, so there are only other bikes, the occasional motorcycle sag (it’s quite a trip to see bikers on the back of a motorcycle with their bikes over their shoulders and emergency vehicles (happily we didn’t see many of those this year).

There are something like 16 food and water stops throughout the course and the support is really terrific. This has to be one of the best supported rides out there! Quite a deal for $80. In contrast, those who do the Tour du Organics this year will hopefully get more than a few artisanal peach slices for their $60 registration.

Almost all of the DR route is spectacularly beautiful. My personal favorites are the backside of Monitor Pass with its stunning views of the Carson Valley, and the front and back sides of Ebbets. While the grades through0ut the route are in the 5-7% range, some top out over 10% and there are two hairpin turns on Ebbets that are an impressive 24% (“trucks with trailers NOT advised”!) At times like these, oxygen is really over-rated.

Other highlights are the fun skeleton-themed stickers affixed to each rider’s number upon the completion of each pass, the red vines at the top of Ebbets, and the ride pin and ice cream provided at the top of Carson Pass for those completing all five passes. A well-deserved yum! This year we were fortunate enough actually have some tailwinds push us up Carson Pass heading west. As we started the descent from Carson Pass back to the starting area in Markleeville, ominous clouds were forming and a few bolts of lightning encouraged us to reach toward 50 MPH downhill in an effort to beat the rains. While Bart and I got soaked for the last 6-7 miles, we were lucky to have missed the hailstorm!! Good thing we got such a late start.

Last Saturday was the Death Ride, also know as the Tour of the California Alps. It is a 125 mile ride with 16000 feet of climbing. At least that’s what they said but I had never been able to figure out how four passes with less than 3000 feet each and one of 1550 feet could add up to 16000.

Well, now I know: it’s a myth. My GPS recorded 14913 feet of climbing and I think MotionBased is even exaggerating a bit.

In any case, this Death Ride (my seventh) turned to be a memorable one. Because of the last 3 miles. That last climb to Turtle Rock Park (the start/finish) generally leaves you some memory, either becasue you cannot wait for this ordeal to be over, or because you’re getting thrilled with your accomplishment. This time for me, it was because lightning started to strike all around me with thunder that was so close that there was no delay between the light and the sound. Then it started to rain. And to rain more. And to pour. And to pour more. And then hail. I am actually glad I was climbing, and it didn’t happen during the fast descent that was preceding. I would have frozen.

Otherwise, apart from those last 15 minutes, the weather had been perfect. Not too cold, and more importantly not to hot, especially in Woodford Canyon, the part that precedes Carson Pass and where I suffered many times in the past. I had started ahead of Bill and Bart, so I only saw them when I was climbng back the parts they were descending at the same time: the back side of Monitor and the back side of Ebbetts.

In the end, that made a pretty dramatic ending for what maybe my last Death Ride. Because I am starting to feel a bit over it (one year might be enough to change my mind, though :-)) I saw a lot of riders with “Climb to Kaiser Finisher” jerseys and that could make for a change. We’ll see…