Oakland Yellowjackets Bicycling Club

Just received this:

I'd like to invite anyone and everyone in your club to the Donner Summit Time Trial this Sunday, August 22. It is a challenging 3.1 mile climb with an 1153 elevation gain and average 6.5% grade. Most importantly it's bragging rights throughout the Tahoe area with prizes from Paco's Bike and Ski!

For more info and registration go to www.truckeefunrun.com or register in advance at Paco's or day of at Citizens Bank Plaza (factory outlet stores). Hope to see you there for this important fundraiser for the Auburn Ski Club Junior Nordic Teams.

Sandi Piercy
Fundraising Chairman
Auburn Ski Club

Seems like a long way to drive for a 3 mile ride, but must be fun.

Paul was one of the select OYJ riders who conquered Fillmore on the 2010 Fog City ride. The amount of vehicle traffic this early in the morning was astonishing. Made the climb much more difficult that it already is.

More videos and slew of photos from the ride in the OYJ Fog City 2010 set.

The Background

Hobbes famously wrote in Leviathan that life was "nasty, brutish and short". He could easily have been talking about Fillmore Street. Seen from below, you might look up at it and think, how the hell am I going to get up this wall of pavement? But don't let that scare you. While the climb can be very intimidating, focus on the last part of Hobbes statement. It's "short". We're talking about only 4 city blocks here.

Fillmore is not the steepest climb in San Francisco. That dubious honor goes to Filbert Street, but it's probably the most famous because, for years, this short climb was featured in the San Francisco Grand Prix. It's was a serious spectacle. Throngs of spectators lined the street watching professional cyclists duel it out on the wicked little ascent.

A couple things to keep in mind while watching the video. The cyclists may be younger than us and fitter than us, but they were racing and doing a circuit that took them up the climb 10 times. We'll do it once. And we're not racing. Typically, recreational cyclists have easier gearing, compact and triple cranksets. So while some of the pros were forced to weave up to the top, you shouldn't let that intimidate you. (That's not to say you might have to resort to weaving.)

We spent the first few days of our family vacation in Yachats, a small village halfway on the Oregon coast, then a week at Black Butte Ranch, near Sisters in the center of Oregon. Using the Death Ride as a preamble, I decided to ride between the two—just shy of 200 miles in two days.

The weather was excellent, and I opted for the "travel light" plan: in addition to my standard kit, just tubes and tools, Mojo bars, extra socks, sun screen, rain jacket (not used), mobile phone, id and credit card. My plan was to ride down the coast to Florence, then east 75 flat miles on Hwy 126 to Eugene, then stop for the night somewhere east of Eugene in the McKenzie foothills, then wheel over McKenzie Pass to Sisters and Black Butte.

The Serotta was still in excellent tune from the Death Ride, so no worries there. Helen tracked behind me by a day, in case of untoward events.

As part of their "Share the Road" campaign, the MCBC has published the "Ride Right" video which focuses on the top techniques for safe group cycling:

On the MCBC site you can more information on Bicycle Etiquette, Safety, Legal Rights and much more. It's a great resource.

Because It's There

When Mountaineer George Mallory was asked why he wanted to climb Mount Everest he responded famously with the retort: "Because it's there." Whether he actually said that or not is a debate for historians. But it's safe to say that's the same attitude cyclists share about Mt. Diablo. We climb it because it's there.

Mt. Diablo looms both over the landscape and our imaginations. It's a constant presence for Bay Area residents. On a clear day you can see the summit from the Marin Headlands. It has been said that it's even visible from Half Dome. You can catch glimpses of it from dozens of Yellowjacket rides. From the top of Pinehurst. Crossing the Benicia Bridge. Gazing down from Twin Peaks. The mountain beckons you to it's lofty heights and challenges you to climb it twisty roads.

To paraphrase, we choose to go to Mt. Diablo. We choose to go to Mt. Diablo, not because it's easy, but because it is hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win.

The Route

When you make the left onto Mt. Diablo Scenic Boulevard, you're looking at about 6.9 miles to the Ranger Station. But the road is hardly uniform. There are steep sections to be sure. But there are also many false flats and even some downhill sections that will help you catch your breath or increase your average speed as you make your way to the half way point of the mountain.

The average grade is something like 4.4%, not terribly demanding by climbing standards. But when we breakdown the ride into components, we'll see where the real trouble spots are and where you can coast.

To take your mind of the climb, you'll have a constantly changing variety of scenery. The vistas are truly spectacular and only improve as road ascends to 2180 feet. If you stay alert and keep your head on a swivel, you're likely to catch sight of some of the beautiful flora (think wildflowers) and fauna (deer and daredevil squirrels that dart across the road).

Weather on the mountain can be quite severe. Depending on the time of year, you can expect searing heat bordering on triple digits, viscous winds and even snow and hail. The Yellowjackets traditionally climb Diablo in the summertime, so be sure to bring plenty of water to stay hydrated.

In brief, Death Ride on a fixed gear is probably the dumbest thing I've ever attempted. I'd never ridden any of the passes before. Had no sustained fixed gear climbing/training. Had only 9 days notice on taking the ride. Made all sorts of last minute changes to the bike the just days before the event (new cranks, altered stem height, different brakeset, different gearing, new handlebar, etc.). No altitude acclimation. And was coming off of 10 straight weeks of a combination of 2 fixed gear double centuries, 3 fixed gear centuries, 2 fixed gear 200ks and 3 geared centuries. Pretty much just a retarded "Can Do!" attitude.

Woke up at 2:00am, in the car by 3:15, and were on the bikes by 4:15am. I didn't realize that I'd left my water bottles in the car until we were 5 miles out. So I had to double back to grab them. Completely unnecessary morning stress. Not a great way to start a ride. I was suffering up the first climb thinking to myself "If this is one of the easier passes, this is going to be a looooong day."

Picked up steam towards the top of Monitor, blew past the rest stop and started the 10 mile descent. Melville was waiting for me at the bottom. Topped off the bottles, used the restroom, and back on the bike within 5 minutes.

Backside of Monitor was tough. Had to stop once to strip off some layers but started to feel good about the ride at the 1/2 way point. Blew past the Monitor summit rest stop again and started the descent down the frontside. About halfway down, my left thigh cramped up and I had to stop to shake it out. A small part of me wanted to turn right at the base and head straight to Carson, but before I could even consider it, my bike was steering left towards Ebetts. Oh well.

My stomach was starting to churn at this point and all signs pointed to the Cytomax so I had to rinse out one of my bottles and refill with plain water. Hit a few gentle rollers on the way to the climb, which is when my Furnace Creek 508 team captain pulled up next to me. I asked him what I should expect. "There a small steep section ahead and after that...I'll be honest with you....it's all rough." Lovely.

About 5 miles into the climb, the left thigh seized up again. I popped some Enduralytes, gave it a few minutes, and hopped back on. I probably made it another half a mile when I cramped again. This went on to the point where I couldn't pedal. I stood on the roadside for about five minutes hoping the pain would go away. It didn't so I was forced to walk it. Two friends (Zachary Bass from Mission Cycling and Peg Miller from Team In Training) recognized me and donated Enduralytes. Probably hoofed a good 1/4-1/2 a mile.

When I hit the top, I really wasn't sure what I was going to do. I parked my bike, pounded 2 V8s and a Coke and walked directly back to the bike. Without even giving myself time to consider turning around, I picked up my bike and started rolling it towards the backside of Ebetts. It was a fucking zoo up there and I was thinking to myself "Get the fuck out of my way people, before a I change my mind." And then I started the plunge.

Just as I started the descent I saw my buddy Mike Melville (he's the fucker who talked me into this) who was 1/2 mile from summiting. On the way down, the grade seemed to be getting steeper and steeper. All I could think was "FUCK. I've gotta come back up this." I hit the rest stop on the backside of Ebetts, got my "4th pass" sticker, and propped my bike against a pickup truck. By this time it was already noon. My initial plan was to hang here for an hour or so and roll back up when I was rested. I ran into Richard as I was topping off my bottles. He told me I was an idiot and I agreed. Apparently Chip and Kyle were around, but I was too frazzled to look for anybody. I tried eating some potato chips, but solid food just wasn't working for me. I had another V8, drank 1/2 a coke, hit my Hammer Gel, and after about 20 minutes was back on the saddle. I just wanted to get up and over this hill and waiting around wasn't going to speed that up.

The backside of Ebetts was definitely the hardest part of the day. I was able to roll steady for about 3 miles, and then my legs just gave out. No cramps. No pain. I just had no juice. I couldn't get the pedals over. So for about the next 2 miles, it was pedal for .2 miles, pull over, rest, and start rolling again. Thankfully the people I'd pull over next to were very sympathetic (like you'd be to a retard), and gave me Enduralytes, nutrition or words of encouragement.

I finally crested, laid my bike on the ground and sat down in silence for a few minutes. Once I'd wrapped my head around the reality that I'd done 4 of the passes, I was able to collect my mental shit. More Coke, more V8, more water. Then down the frontside. This was probably the easiest part of the day. Even though I was probably going no faster than 18-20 mph, the descent flew by. By the time I got to lunch, it felt like I'd only been descending for 10 minutes, even though it was probably closer to 30 or 40.

The lunch stop was sooooo disappointing. The staff there were un-enthused and all they had to eat were veggie wraps. Fuck this shit. I topped off my bottles again, and figured I'd head straight to the car in Markleeville where I had a stash of Red Bull. I was feeling pretty good on the way back from Ebetts. The legs were spinning well, and I was humming along. It was a little dis-heartening, not being able to jump into the pacelines but whatever. I was starting to feel like I could do this.

Then I hit the first roller back into Markleeville. My legs shutdown again. I felt like I was having to do leg presses just to hump over a 4% bump. Not good. Same thing for the next one. I still had 5 hours to finish Carson, but in the condition I was in, I probably wouldn't pull into til 8. Another 47 miles of this didn't sound all that enticing. I got to the car, tunred on the air-con, hit the CD player and rested a bit. Temperature was registering 102 degrees. Ugh.

When I got back out of the car, I decided to converse with the person parked next to me. She was supposed to be riding, but hadn't trained so she was cheering her friends on. Something about 2 months off the saddle while mountaineering in Nepal. She was cute and made for entertaining conversation. She then invited me to lie down on one of the yoga mats that was spread out at the foot of her car and eat some peanut butter filled pretzels. I lied down, kicked the shoes off and closed my eyes. It was at this moment that I decided to call it quits.

Evil "Siren of the Sierras!" Next year I shall resist your peanut buttery temptations!

End result. 82 miles, 4 passes, 11600 feet of climbing. A higher ratio than I've ever done, even on a geared bike.

I'll have to try this again next year. Hopefully a little wiser and little better prepared :D

Two weeks ago, I did my first "consecutive day" bike ride - and it was terrific. Seven days of great riding, 430 miles - it's called "Sierra to the Sea." It starts up in the Sierras, at Bear Valley, (still snow on the ground at 7000 feet!) and ends up seven days later in San Francisco.

The first day started with a thirty mile descent, going down from Bear Valley on our way to Jackson. But somehow the day also included 4845 feet of climbing! over 72.6 miles. Our second longest day, Jackson to Ryde, was 74.7 miles, but only 2110 feet of climbing. Most days were around 60 miles.