Nick Venuto Memorial Ride summary
Descenders,
Please find the Nick Venuto Memorial Ride summary attached. Thanks to all those who participated and made it a success.
Dave Voris
Descenders, we had 15 riders on our Alpine (*modified) ride yesterday.
Modification included taking out the mostly flattish ride to El Capitan and replacing it with extension of Japatul Road Climb, all the way to Lyons Valley Rd. I don’t know about you, but for me it brought back all the painful memories of multiple Alpine challenges, all rolled into one painful nightmare. Ouch!
I rode to Casa Voris, where I met Voris himself, as well as Jeff S., Eileen, Guido, Geoff and Hodges. Rick rolled in soon as well. We rode to 7-11 where we met Rick W., Bernie (who recovered nicely after last week’s incident), Ernst (who the night before emailed everyone that he will not be riding, but rode anyways, aka “pulling an Ernst”), Claus, and Cresap. Yi-Shiou and Garret caught up and/or met us as we hit Scripps Poway. They needed to get back early and rode with us till Lake Jennings before turning back.
The pace was civilized up SPP, and we stayed together on the first part of the descent down 67, then Rick took a flier up the short uphill. I felt obligated to chase down. We opened up a gap and tried to keep it on the descent. Rick and I tried it many times before, and usually we get caught on the descent, but this time we survived. A few matches burned already. Claus and Rick set a nice tempo at the front with Geoff often coming to the front too.
We all burned a few more matches up Lake Jennings uphill when Voris, Rick and I tried to “stretch our legs”. We stayed as a group from there on, including staying together during fast descent down Harbison Canyon. Several of us stopped at the fire station to refill the water bottles. It was getting hot.
We were now all spread out and staggered on Japatul climb. Rick Bienias was off the front, going for one of many KOMs he got yesterday, followed by a group of 4 or 5 descenders that included Ernst, Guido, Claus and others. Voris and I set a good tempo trying to catch Rick W. – we finally caught him just before the descent. Rick B. was riding circles around, waiting for us, and the large 4-5 strong group was not far ahead. Voris and I descended at full speed, catching the large group – at some point Rick W. went by us on his aero Cervelo, which was really impressive. Then he immediately dropped his chain and had to stop.
Ernst joined me and Voris as we started second part of Japatul climb. I was soon riding along for the second half of the climb, struggling up the famous “wall” when I saw Rick gaining on me quickly in my rearview mirror. I was almost at the top and I sprinted the best I could to get on his wheel – and I did, for about 3 seconds, then I watched Rick ride away from me with ease.
(He then waited for me and we rode to the Lyons Valley together). Soon we saw Voris, followed by Ernst and others. Rick rode the Wall segment at 16mph, by the way, getting a new KOM. He also got KOM on the first part of Japatul climb, and on 67 climb to SPP.
We waited a little and started riding back, separating into two groups – ours contained Voris, Hodges, Geoff, Jeff, Bernie and me, followed by Rick-lead train. Cresap pushed on the descent and had to take ascent easy, and Voris showed his NorCal form by dropping Bernie, then Hodges and Geoff on the Tavern climb, leaving only me on his wheel. Turns out Rick W. was chasing us the whole time and finished only 30 seconds or so behind us, as we pulled to the store.
Following some Gatorade-Pepsi-Snickers-Pretzel party, provided by nearby CVS, we headed back, into fairly substantial headwind. I had to leave the group as we got to Lakeside, and I still had to face 25 miles or so of fighting headwind through rough roads of Santee and Clairemont. Total of 100 miles and 7,800ft of climbing, and a lot of good times in good company.
Selected photos attached and Full gallery is at: http://goo.gl/IqdLg
You should have come!
The Plan was for the wife to come up Saturday PM to the Bay area for a long weekend getaway in the Sierra foothills for our 28 anniversary. That provided a perfect opportunity to see stage 7 of the TOC Saturday.
The goal was to see the stage racing action in two different places, including the top of Diablo, without getting in the car during the stage and still getting to airport on time in the late afternoon. So an early start up Morgan Territory Road provided a quaint view of the race near the start. Picture shows the red pokedot jersey out front with the pack still half asleep in the background. They of course later woke up, much to the displeasure of the KOM jersey up Diablo. The other pictures of the one lane road are of Morgan Territory. Sort of a quaint little storybook road, that rips the tendons off your knees.
I didn’t really need to rush after the Morgan Territory KOM to get to Diablo in the 20 mile transition route that the TOC race would soon be on. But maybe we all just got caught up in the racing moment, because my heart rate was at it’s highest for a 10 mile flat section (up to 185 – rare for me). A group of 4 us we being “chased” by a massive group (100 plus) that just came off the mountain, and it would have been chaos if they swallowed us up. So the four of us managed to stay out front, at a big cost for me. I needed a few Descenders compatriots.
The crowds on Diablo were more like how I remember Palomar several years ago. Big numbers and nut cases. I chose to view the race a few miles from the top, so that I wasn’t lost in a crowd of hundred screaming nuts. I got some great shots including Sagan waving to the crowd as the green jersey winner; and TJ, probably not long before the front chase group was decimated.
I saw Jelger (one of Matt’s boys) and I heard Larry T. was on Morgan Territory too (but never saw him). Perfect weather and visibility. 70 miles, 7,000 feet, and got the airport on time.
You should have come!
Dave
All, we had 14 descenders coming out for Soledad punishment. There was a bit of drama, as you see below (keep reading!).
I parked the car filled with coffee and food at the top of Soledad and rode down to meet with the rest of descenders. I met with a group of 10 on 56 bike path, just a few miles after they left the meeting place. The group contained Sheehan, Rob, Geoff, Rick, Jeff L., Guido, Bernie, Hodges, Farkas and Chad. Farkas was racing tomorrow so he only rode with us to the coast and continued north on 101. However, we picked up Larry Murray and Jeff Southerton on the coast, and a new rider, Randall (I think?), on Soledad, bringing the total count to 14.
The ride went as usual, with controlled climb up Torrey Pines (lead by Chad) and animated descent (lead by Sheehan) to La Jolla Shores.
Jeff Langley, or, I should say, Dr. Jeff Langley, as he just got a Ph.D. degree in ministry (Jeff is a pastor in case you didn’t know it already), had to turn back early since he had family in town to celebrate his graduation (congrats, Jeff!).
There was some construction on Torrey Pines as we approached La Jolla, which was annoying (as cars took over the bike lane). As we hit Hillside, Rick picked up the tempo and Larry, Chad and I followed. I survived Rick’s aggression long enough to show him the beaten path that runs parallel to via Capri (I did slow him down as I had to dismount the bike to get past the gate, which cost Rick the Hillside KOM or two I am sure – but he should get the KOM for the steepest Hillside section all the way to the Cross). As Rick disappeared in the distance, I went into my personal pain cave – I found Rick at the Cross, circling around the monument. Soon Larry, and then trio of Jeff Southerton, Chad and Rob arrived. Rob has been on fire lately, whatever he is doing, is obviously working for him.
We quickly regroupped and descended down Nautilus – Sheehan missed the turn and was the last man to start the descent, but was also the first descender to finish it. It was windy so the times were not super-fast.
We climbed up Country Club (Rick never did this climb before either, but after my instructions of “stay to the left all the time”, he took off and set a new KOM on the Countryclub Rd. climb – impressive!). We stopped to take some photos at the overlook.
After our second climb we stopped for civilized european-style coffee and pastry break at the top of Soledad, and then descended down La Jolla scenic. Here’s where we ran into some trouble:
As we rode through Bird Rock roundabouts, one of the car drivers (driving a gray Jeep 4×4 with CA license plate “NADIA 3”), driving next/just ahead of Bernie and Larry, followed by Rick, was driving erratically, deliberately cutting them off by periodically getting his car to the far right, next to the curb, and effectively squeezing them off the road. Bernie was riding behind the car, and yelled at the driver to get his attention. The driver then proceeds to immediately slam on the brakes, forcing Bernie to crash into his rear window. There were no cars or obstacles ahead and no other obvious reasons for him to suddenly hit the brakes, except to deliberately crash a cyclist with malicious intent. Other drivers behind called 911 and the police was on the scene within just a few minutes. The Jeep drove off at first but turned around and came back to the scene of the accident. A lot of people stopped to offer help. This was behind me when this happened and I got a bit of a shock when I saw a descender lying in the middle of the road in my rearview mirror.
Bernie suffered some nasty road rash and bruising on his back, as well as swelling of his thumb, but no broken bones. It could have been a lot worse! His was bike miraculously Ok as well, upon our quick inspection, just out-of-whack handlebar that got quickly fixed by Rick and a few scratches to the frame. Bernie was going about 15 mph when the driver slammed on the brakes.
The police officers to their credit took the accident very seriously and spent the next 40 minutes interviewing Bernie, Larry, the car driver and his passenger, documenting everything – very thorough job. The car driver (according to license plate holder, a retired air force servicemen and an EMT), however, did not appear to take the accident too seriously, claiming he just wanted to stop and pull over to the side to let cyclists go through – explanation that is beyond believable. No remorse about deliberately causing the damage whatsoever.
Once the police were done processing the paperwork we rode off to climb Nautilus. Bernie was feeling sore but good enough to continue riding. We climbed more or less as a group, then descended on the Soledad Mountain Road. Most descenders decided they have had enough of climbing for the day and went back to Poway through Santa Fe bike path, while Rick, Larry, Geoff and Bernie (yes, crash victim Bernie!) climbed Pacifica (where Rick entertained us by pulling a Sagan and popping wheelies practically all the way to the top) and then back up Soledad Rd to the Cross.
From there the group rode down Via Capri and up Torrey Pines to UCSD, while I went home.
A lot of climbing and some crazy adrenaline-filled adventures, but all is well that ends well. You should have come!
(Photos attached and the rest are at: http://goo.gl/3W99d)
Hi All,
We had a great time riding Palomar and watching the pro riders yesterday. Oleg has graciously agreed to write the ride report this week. I have a few photos that I will put on our shared album site. Here is one of the group at the bottom of Mesa Grande.
Another great Descenders event and fun day on the bike.
Rob
Descenders,
we had another EPIC day of spectating at Stage 1 of 2013 Tour of California, right in our backyard, at Mount Palomar. This was the 5th time Descenders did a ToC ride – and ToC has returned to Palomar and Greater San Diego area for the first time since 2009. 2009 has a special meaning to me personally since this is the first time I met Descenders.
We had over two dozen riders today participate in Descenders trip. The attached group photo shows 18 descenders at Mesa Grande, plus Jelger who took the photo plus Hodges and kids, John Moran, Logan, Daniel and Zach – that’s 26, not even counting Jeff’s father and friends who formed a support crew at mile 9.4. The turnout would have been even greater had it not been for Mother’s Day.
Rob and I met early in the morning to pack the support van – we left promptly at 6:45 but other cars left soon after us, in fact we saw them at Santa Ysabel when we made a brief stop. We saw a few people camping and parked on the side of the road on early slopes of East Grade but for the most part the roads were deserted. We parked at Pacheco memorial, along with Jeff and Ernst who arrived at the same time as we did.
Rob, Jeff, Ernst and I flew down the East Grade (it was chilly going through some shaded parts but I could tell it was going to be a hot day!) and saw Hodges with his kids – Sam and Francesca, followed by Jim, who all parked near Lake Henshaw. Jim turned around and joined us while the Hodges family carried on to the top. We got to Mesa Grande/76 split at the same time as most of the descenders were just arriving from Mesa Grande side (saved us the trouble of climbing it!).
Now we had a group of 19 riders: Rob, Oleg, Cresap, Len, Guido, Ernst, Geoff, Voris, Denise, Neil, Bill, Larry, Jim, Matt, Tony, Rick, Jeff L., Farkas and Jelger. John Moran, Three Hodges, as well as Daniel and Zach were already on their way to the top.
We rode together to East Grade where we broke up into smaller groups. Jim and Rick were at the front, followed by me, Neil, Matt, Farkas and Jelger. We heard a loud pop as Larry got a flat tire behind us. Soon the pace was a bit too much for Jelger, Farkas and Matt (Matt did 100 mile L’Equippe of Stage 1 just the day before, setting several notable KOMs including Full Mesa Grande from 79 to 76 and Mesa Grande descent, and so it was amazing to see him riding at all!). Neil and I stopped at mile 9.4 to get some water and chatted a bit with Jeff’s father before riding up to chase Jim and Rick. We stopped at Mothers and waited for Matt, Farkas and Jelger who were not far behind. It was only 10AM but already heating up quickly. We descended down South Grade (things got a bit dicey during descent as Matt momentarily got forced onto oncoming lane of traffic with a truck coming up around the turn – but he was quick to jump back into right lane). Matt was descending super-fast as usual, Jelger and I tried to chase him but he was too quick for us.
We turned around and started climbing South Grade – I saw many descenders zooming down, even the ones who declared they won’t be doing South Grade. I heard Voris got a flat near the top as he was descending.
For the first half of South Grade climb I was riding behind Jim and Rick (I could still see them in the distance on straightaways), and chased by Jelger. Matt decided to take it easy and he even stopped a few times in the shade to chillax. It was getting very hot! We passed a lot of riders going up, but not as many as I expected (there were less riders on Palomar than in 2009 Tour of California, even though it was held in February!) – I think Mother’s Day had something to do with it.
Near the top I was able to catch up with Jim who was obviously taking it easy. We refilled the water bottles and slowly pedaled to observatory. On the way back we ran into Guido who had a mechanical – derailleur went into the wheel resulting in a broken spoke and a flat tire. Rick quickly trued the wheel enough to get Guido riding again – and Rob and I discovered a volunteer to drive the support van back to Santa Ysabel (Guido).
When we arrived back at the support car it looked like a party town. Food and drinks, relaxing in the shade and sharing stories. Best part of the trip.
Turns out Rob blazed up South Grade, beating great climbers, such as Jelger, Larry and Farkas. I think his time was 4th out of 20+ descenders that day. I propose those peanut butter jugs of his need to be tested for doping.
We talked about how fast peloton must be riding and how Rick’s major KOMs on the course – San Pasqual Climb, Old Julian and East Grade – just to name a few major climbs, are likely to be taken over by multiple pros – in addition to Matt’s multiple Mesa Grande KOMs and Ernst’s South Grade.
We ran into many friends, including Dan and Logan, and kept ringing the cowbells for riders coming up the mountain. Some were flying up the hill, despite nearly 100F temperatures.
The race convoy cars started arriving and we got the news that breakaway with 8 minute lead was about to go through. I climbed the cliff near Pacheco Memorial (I shared my perch with professional freelance photographer, Maria, who nearly ran out of gas trying to get to Palomar). The view was breathtaking – we watched a breakaway of 3 go through, followed by another rider stuck in no-mans land, followed by rapidly closing peloton lead by BMC team. Then a few stragglers.
We quickly and efficiently folded the tents and the chairs, packed away the food, supplies and garbage and were descending (Jelger got a flat just before we left but he quickly fixed it). The descent was a bit tricky since the road was bumpy and we had a number of other riders (most slower descenders) as well as cars, but it was still fast and fun descent. We stayed together as a group through entire descent and then rode along 76, passing Hodges and kids, and picking up Zach and Daniel who left a bit before we did. On Mesa Grande climb (we just passed Bill and John Moran) I was impressed with Jelger and Tony who pushed the pace on a hot climb into the wind – Daniel and I caught up to a small group of Rick, Denise and Len, with Larry just ahead of them. We stopped at the top to regroup in the shade – Matt came charging, catching up with Jelger and Tony – despite being tired, Matt’s muscle memory kicked in. We stayed as a group through Mesa Grande, only breaking up for brief periods of time. Guido driving Rob’s van helped motorpace Zach and Daniel and provided moral support. We got back to the cars, exchanged high-fives, bought obligatory pies and were off to Poway.
After getting home and learning that Westra and Mancebo narrowly prevented Sagan from nearly inevitable victory, it was even more shocking to discover that Rick’s owned three major climbs of the day, San Pasqual, Old Julian and East Grade KOMs were NOT taken down by the pros:
http://app.strava.com/segments/609581
http://app.strava.com/segments/1663913
http://app.strava.com/segments/611972
Rick’s East Grade KOM survives by 45 seconds, despite the fact that this is where peloton, supported by several top teams (BMC, Cannondale) charged hard to close 8+ minute gap to the breakaway.
Matt’s Full Mesa Grande KOM was overtaken, but his Mesa Grande descent KOM (shared with Larry Tanzo) remains at the top of the leaderboard. Pros also descended faster than previously recorded strava times on South Grade (partly due to ability to take the entire road), and took down Cole Grade, Woods Valley, Wolford rollers and Lake Wohford descent KOMs, as well as many others.
That Rick’s KOMs remained unmatched by Professional Peloton containing some of the biggest stars of modern cycling (with Tour De France winner and reining World Champion) was the biggest surprise of the day for me, personally.
Photos attached (the rest are here:)
http://goo.gl/SUSWm
You most definitely should have come!
Oleg
Mussey Grade and Pamo
4 May 2013
by Rob V
A ride that includes Mussey and Pamo always bring out a good crowd of Descenders. We had 15 guys meet in Poway to start the ride. Riders included Guido, Geoff B, Voris, Bob P, Rick B, Jeff C, Eric, Claus, Bernie, Rick W, Jeff S, Neil R, Ernst, Steve K and me. We rode as a group up Sycamore to SPP. The pace seemed faster than usual but we mostly stayed together to Route 67 where the first split hit hard.
The group climbed towards the Poway Grade while Cresap and I fell farther behind. Jeff did most of the work as we tried to close the gap climbing towards Mt Woodson. A number of guys waited for us at the top of the curve so we had a large line of riders cruising to Mussey. About halfway there some inconsiderate driver purposefully pulled over into the bike lane to cause some disruption and other potential carnage. I was in back and watched it all unfold. Ernst and Guido avoided the car and we all sped to the Mussey turn. All except Ernst. He chased after the driver who was heading into Ramona.
We regrouped for the fast descent down Mussey. It was chaotic at best but we sped along at a pretty good clip. Near the bottom Geoff, Guido, Voris and Eric pulled away to lead us to a well deserved break. Bob P, Cresap, Steve K and I snuck away early to get some space in front of the real climbers back up Mussey. Near the final curve Neil blew by us and sped to the end with Rick W not far behind. The group was back together, including Ernst, as we rode along Dye through Ramona and towards Pamo. Ernst was not able to find the idiot driver but I am sure he felt better making the effort.
I tried to sneak to the front for the Pamo descent but Voris snuck just ahead as we hit the hill. I followed his wheel and we flew down to the bottom and into Pamo Valley with Rick W right behind me. My water bottle lid popped off near the bridge so Rick W saved it for me. I had to wait while the rest of the guys cruised past heading to the end of the road. Guido stopped with me and after I collected my items from Rick, we decided it was a good time to get in front of the group for the nasty climb back up Pamo. Guido and I leisurely paced ourselves up the road. I stopped near the final curve to take photos of the pained faces returning back up Pamo. Ernst came into view first with Neil quickly closing the gap. Rick B was also flying up the road. I have good pictures of many of the guys climbing; they will be posted in your shared album site. Neil took KOM honors for his efforts!
After Pamo we regrouped and rode back towards Ramona. Ernst started the break-up when he unexpectantly decided to cruise on down Ramona Grade instead of back into town. The remaining 14 riders stopped for water at the gas station and then rolled along San Vicente Road. Just before we got to the turn on Dye Road, three riders went by us and decided to try to stay on point. We let them lead out through the first two turns but on the long straight away I could see the big guns pull around and start to increase the pace. Eric, Voris, Bernie, Rick W and Rick B were pulling away. The rest of us quickly passed the three guys and we tried to get on the back wheel of these ever increasing speed demons. The group blew apart but we all made it back to the light at 67. There more route changes took place. Eric, Voris, Bernie, Claus, Geoff B and I decided to go down HVR while the remaining guys went left down Hwy 67 toward home. The three riders finally got to the red light and came with us on HVR.
Eric, Voris and Bernie pulled us along with the three guys getting a free ride at the back of the group. On the final climb after the Archie Moore turn, just past the school, the accelerations started again and we split into 3 groups. Eric, Voris and Bernie in front with Geoff, Claus and me following, the other three riders disappeared behind. The descent was its usual blistering pace. Near the top Claus stopped to pick up his dropped light. That left Geoff and me chasing the guys in front. Geoff did much of the work untiil the final pitch where I went to the front and eventually caught the guys at the bottom of HVR. We cruised to Pomerado and split again with Voris and Bernie heading left while Eric pulled be along, over I-15 and back toward 4S. I stopped for water when Eric climbed up into 4S before pootling my way home behind Black Mountain. I finished with 75 miles and about 4,700 feet of climbing. Another great ride, beautiful weather and good time with the Descenders.
Next on my itinerary was Germany, namely Hohenkammer, a small village about 20 miles north of Munich. I had some free time and went out for a ride on my Ritchey. It was raining the day before and would rain the next day, but on that particular day I really lucked out.
I didn’t research the roads very well prior to going out for a ride – nobody uses strava much in Germany, and because there are no epic climbs like in Innsbruck, it wasn’t clear where the best rides are. The terrain north of Munich was mostly flat, with some gently rolling hills.
I asked hotel frontdesk lady about any maps for nearby roads, telling her I am riding my bike – she got very excited and spent the next 5 minutes telling me about a wonderful bike path loop nearby I just had to check out. Except for two problems – this was a dirt path, not paved, and more importantly the entire loop was 8 kilometers. The frontdesk clerk did not seem to understand why anyone would ever need to ride more than 8K.
As it turns out I didn’t need any research done before riding – the best strategy was to pick the smallest rural roads I could find, they had virtually no traffic and excellent road surfaces (for the most part).
Sometimes I found myself riding on the bike paths that go next to the road, but for the most part it was small roads. It was windy and a few times I was drafting behind farm tractors, which are perfect for drafting due to their size and their willingness to go 25 mph into the wind for extended periods of time.
I soon found myself next to the Munich airport, which seemed to be much further away by car. I searched for a bike path that was on the map but it turned to dirt so I hit a nearby road, which was a busy road with little shoulder. No problem – I took the first available turn-off onto the small farm road and it was a fantastic road with no traffic and great views of farmlands as far as eye could see.
We were going for a dinner in Munich so after two hours or so I turned back after I got into the city of Freising.
I took a bit of an extra time on the way back, enjoying the scenery and small roads going through little rural towns here and there.
After the ride I was awarded by a 1L mug of Dunkel beer. When in Bavaria… Now, Photos:
I was going to Austria and Germany (for conferences) and decided to bring my Ritchey, naturally. United Airlines normally charges $200 for regular bike as a luggage fee for an international flight – one way. So the entire trip with my “regular” bike would have set me back $400. Yikes.
Luckily, my Ritchey Breakaway flies for free, as it always has.
4 hour flight from San Diego to Chicago, plus short layover and another 9 hour flight later I was in Munich with my Ritchey, no fees. I rented a Volkswagen Golf and was soon doing 180 (kilometers per hour) on autobahn, heading south towards Austria. I got to Innbruck, my destination, around 6PM local time, jetlagged and tired. It was raining while I was driving but by the time I crossed into Austria the clouds started going away and it was sunny. The views of the Alps, still covered in snow, surrounding Innsbruck from every direction, were absolutely gorgeous.
I quickly assembled Ritchey and decided to take it for a 5 minute test-spin around the park. Which quickly became 30 minute spin, then 1.5 hour spin, for 22 miles or so along the river Inn. I tried to stay close to the river to avoid climbinNext day I met with Christoph, a top local rider, who kindly volunteered to be my bicycling guide for the day. I contacted Christoph after looking up some climbs in Innsbruck area on strava, and Christoph was invariably a KOM on each and every one of them.
We did three major climbs – Hochzirl, a 1,200-1,400ft climb with major section averaging 11-13%, that starts in city of Zirl and goes up to the local hospital, in shaded alpine forest, followed by Haggenweg Climb, that goes to city of Stiglreich, morphing into an appropriately named Superstiglreith climb, which starts in the valley/countryside at 2,000ft and ends at 5,000ft, with plenty of snow still on the side of the road, with the final mile-long section of 13%; and finally, after some fast descending back into the valley and a few rolling hills, Axamer Lizum climb up to Olympic skiing center that was featured in 1976 Winter Olympics, also topping out at just above 5,000 ft.
A great ride overall. We finished riding around noon time, I grabbed some lunch and took off for Munich. Rain started pouring as soon as I left, so we got really lucky with the good weather. Sunshine period just long enough to fit a nice long ride.
Innsbruck is a fantastic city and very bike friendly. A lot of people ride bikes around the city and bikes are seen everywhere you go.
Photos (by popular demand of Matt) are below the fold. You should have come, Oleg.
A Descenders’ Weekend in Emilia Romagna Italy by Bob Proulx
This week I again had one of my European business trips and was scheduled to be in Bologna for the weekend. Fortunately, my business colleague was able to lend me his bike and I was able to get a ride in on both Saturday and Sunday. This area is true Descenders’ country. The hills are spectacular with MANY long climbs and some that are truly challenging (it is not uncommon to find 12% – 20% grades in some places!)
Saturday Apr 27th – I was able to get Nicolo’s bike on Friday night so I was ready to head out on my own on Saturday morning. The route I chose was one I had done previously on my rides last spring. After a short 3 mile warm up on the ring-road that encircles the city of Bologna, I turned left and headed up the big hill directly on the south side of the city. There is no gentle start to the climb as it goes right to 4-7% immediately and stays that way, with a few tougher pitches, for about 4 miles. Nicolo’s bike is equipped with a standard crank and a rear cassette that doesn’t favor climbing. So by the time I hit the top of the climb my heart rate was high and my legs tired, and I realized I’d only ridden 7.5 miles! I decided I needed (desperately) to stop and adjust the seat post as it was too low and my legs wouldn’t take the punishing hills with my leverage being all wrong. Adjustments made I continued on the route I remembered that winds along the hill sides with various ups and downs. A simply beautiful place to ride. I passed quite a few small riding groups enjoying the overcast skies and mild temperatures, making it comfortable for riding. I chose a different descent than I had previously ridden. This road down to Pianoro was 5km and perfectly surfaced but with a sign at the top indicating 16% grade! There was a bit of wind so I proceeded down somewhat cautiously. There was a big pack of riders heading up the road as I was heading down (many I could tell were wishing they were going in my direction instead of climbing). At the bottom I turned right heading up the river valley towards Butano. This road I had also ridden before. It is a 10 mile stretch paralleling the river with a 1-3% grade all the way. The road carves beautifully through the rock cut by the river and there is very little traffic since it leads only to the remote hills between Bologna and Florence. As I headed up, the weather took a turn for the worst and it began to get wet with a light misting rain. At the first big intersection I turned left and headed up the hill to Loiano. I had done this ride last June and knew what was in front of me – 6km of 7+% grade, but a beautiful road with open meadows on either side. Despite the light rain it was a nice climb. At the top I turned left again to ride the ridge back down to Pianoro. This road is gorgeous. It winds and gently follows the ridge back west towards Bologna. There was a stretch of about 5-7 miles that I didn’t see a car. By the time I got out of the hills and reached Pianoro, the rain and roads had dried up and I was able to get back to my hotel with 50 miles and 5200’ of riding.
Sunday Apr 28th – About a year ago I had tried contacting some riders through Strava to try to find a way to rent a bike while in Bologna. I began following one of the riders and a few weeks ago contacted him through Strava to see if he wanted to ride with me. Nazareno Storani normally rides with his cycling club on Sundays but was nice enough to offer to take me for a ride instead. We managed to find a meeting point about 5km east of Bologna not too far from where he lives. He had mapped out a route that he likes to ride – and boy was it a treat. We headed out through Zena. This road also parallels a river but on the north side of the ridge I had ridden down the day before. This is a long slowly climbing valley in beautifully quiet country. Eventually, the pitch picks up in a few places and then we turned left and headed up to Quinzano. This was a 6.5km climb at 4-7% with a few short pitchier spots. Nazareno warned me he was likely to fall behind. We had had a rider drafting on our heals all the way up the valley and when I began to leave Nazareno the unknown rider stayed with me. Another rider soon joined us and the three of us headed up the road. When it got steeper the two unknowns gapped me by 100m and then when the pitch dropped a bit I was able to catch them. Unfortunately, the pitch picked back up and I didn’t have the legs to stay with them. At the top I waited for Nazareno (his Strava post shows he PR’d on the climb!). We took a short break to get some fresh water from the public spring and then proceeded from Quinzano to Loiano. The first kilometer was steep and then there was about 3km of 4-7%. I stopped at one point to take a picture of Nazareno and the road, see attached, but I don’t have the photographic skills of Oleg or Rob so these will have to do and you will have to take my word for it that this place is great riding.) Once at the top we decided to descend down the road from Loiano towards Butano that I had ridden up the day before. Sheehan, Ernst, Babb, et al. would love this descent. The road has many open curves and only two hairpins. At the bottom, we headed down the valley I had ridden up the day before. I had thought we would have a tailwind going down the valley, but when we got down the hill we discovered the wind was coming up the valley. We still managed to average 24mph for about 10 miles down the grade taking turns on the lead. I got back to Bologna with 48 miles and ~ 3000’ of climbing, and a new riding friend in Italy thanks to Strava.
I’m lucky to have had the experience.
Bob Proulx
Alpine Challenge Ride Report
27 April 2013
by Rob Verfurth
The Alpine Challenge has been an annual Descenders group ride for many, many years. In the past we have ridden hard on the 62 mile loop, trying to finish in the top riders for the ride (not a race) event. The ride start changed a few years ago to its current location and due to the busy traffic there is no longer a group start. This has changed the complexion of the ride/race. This year we notched it down even farther to publicly label it as a training ride for upcoming events like the Tour of California and Monsters Climb.
We had a great turn out of riders and great weather for the ride; sunny and cool at the start but never too hot all day. Most of the riders were planning to do the new 100 mile route with a few guys thinking of bailing to the 60 mile loop. We all converged to Summers Past Farms for a 7 am start. There were lots of riders already out on the course that opened at 6 am. We rolled with 11 riders: Jeff S, Larry Murray. Voris, Geoff B, Eileen, Len (TE), Tony O, Jeff C, Guido, Jeff L and me. The first few miles looped us west and back east for some gratuitous ride time due to the last minute change of no Kitchen Creek climb. I forgot to start my Garmin so did not even get credit for these early miles; Strava never lies. We looped right back by the start in time for Rick and Ernst to join our ride party. They planned to only ride the 60 mile loop and felt it appropriate to come late.
The large group kept up a nice pace down Harbison Canyon to start the Dehesa Climb. As expected we got split a bit on the climb but planned to regroup at the SAG station just before the descent down into Pine Valley. Most of the group rode together at a nice comfortable pace with only Cresap and Guido saving their legs a bit father back. Jeff S and Eileen bagged the stop and continued on towards Sunrise Highway, the new climb added for the ride. The rest of the group refueled and waited for Guido and Cresap. Hodges-like impatience set in so we rolled out expecting them to show at the next checkpoint at the top of Mount Laguna. We all stayed together until Rick and Ernst took the turn back around Pine Valley while the rest of us climbed up to start the Sunrise Highway ascent. I quickly lost contact with Larry, Voris, Geoff. Len and Tony as they motored up the climb; Jeff L was just behind me.
I watched the 5-man group roll around the curves of Sunrise Highway and eventually out of sight. Jeff L stopped to stretch a few miles into the climb and I climbed on alone. This was great ToC and Monster Climb training as I expect to be in the back climbing solo for those events too! About mile 3 of the climb I got my Drew Peterson sighting as he flew back down Sunrise Highway. He was in the lead and it would be another 1.5 hours before I hit the same spot on my descent. Drew was riding to another Alpine Challenge victory, averaging more than 20 mph for the entire ride. I reached the top of Mt Laguna and passed a rider in a Swami’s kit. He rode by me along the rollers at the top and I hung onto his wheel as we sped toward the turnaround point and SAG stop. We arrived a few minutes after the 5 guys while Jeff S & Eileen were already there enjoying the food and drink from the old VW van. We relaxed at the checkpoint for 5 minutes and then rolled out again suffering a bit on the climb back up to start our fast descent down Sunrsie Highway. The 5-man group again blew me away so I wisely hung with Jeff S and Eileen until we started the fast descent. We should have seen Cresap and Guido by now so we guessed they turned back, along with Jeff L who was saving hig legs for Breathless Agony next weekend.
I flew down Sunrise Highway and looped through Pine Valley, then slowed dramatically up the climb through Guatay and back to our planned SAG stop about mile 75. It was starting to get wamer with the temperatures now in the 70’s. All the Descenders that climbed Laguna were there waiting for me, including Jeff S and Eileen. They went straight through Pine Valley to get in front of me as I looped around. We all were full of snacks and refreshed with new drinks as we rolled out to finish the last section of the ride. We rode around Descanco and back to Hwy 79, then under I-8 again. The descent started with Geoff and Voris pulling hard. I barely hung on and then Larry moved to the front. He road at or near the front all day, pulling the group forward. He would then back off some so everyone could regroup. Larry kept up a fast pace on the descent with Geoff and Voris trading pulls while Len, Tony and I hung on for dear life. Jeff S and Eileen were left to make their way back alone. We flew back down Dehesa to Tavern Road and then into Alpine.
The now group of six finished together with about 6:15 of ride time. We saw Guido who told us he rode up Sunrise Highway and turned back, he still rode 95 miles. Jeff L turned back as well and picked up Cresap on the route back. Jeff C must have decided to ride the 60+ mile loop and save his legs a bit. Jeff S and Eileen finished up just a few minutes behind us. We all enjoyed the post-ride meal and some enjoyed the beer too before climbing into our cars to head home. It was a great ride and greaet team effort with many Descenders riding together much of the ride. Attached is a photo from the start of the climb up Dehesa. I will post the rest to our Shutterfly account.
Yesterday Keith James and I met in Bay Area (we started from Walnut Creek) to ride up Mount Diablo (spanish for, like, “Fighting Chicken”). It was good to see Keith and chat with him – doing it over cycling was a nice bonus.
In addition to Diablo we tacked on Morgan Territory Rd. – a narrow one-lane rural road that snakes its way through Morgan Territory preserve (there are basically no cars driving through there), and undergoes a dramatic transition from a shaded, wooded climb to an open landscape covered in green rolling hills, cow pastures and farms. The view was unbelievable! It was very windy and after Morgan Territory we were fighting headwinds in the farmlands and often going as slow as 12mph on flat terrain due to the wind. We stopped in Blackhawk to have lunch – some sandwiches from local bagel shop, then carried on to the main dish – climb up Mount Diablo. We went up South Gate Road. This year’s Queen stage of Tour of California is a mountain-top finish at Mount Diablo. We were riding at conversational pace – at lower slopes of South Gate Road I heard a loud rattling sound – I rode about a foot from a coiled up rattle snake (photos attached).
It was getting warmer – felt like 80ies but there was little traffic or cyclists at the mountain.
We rode together until very end when I went up the road to take some photos of Keith from a few switchbacks up. After having some snacks at the top we descended North Gate road to the cars – it was a fun road – nothing too technical with some nice gentle turns.
A great day for cycling – 64 miles with 6,600 ft of climbing. You should have come!
Photos: http://goo.gl/RWxYP
Dudley’s Dream Ride
20 April 2013
by Rob Verfurth
Oleg planned and organized another awesome day of riding with the Descenders last Saturday. This is one of my favorite routes, painful, beautiful and memorable. I look forward to tackling it again in a few weeks for the Tour of California ride. The plan was to meet and start the ride in Santa Ysabel as usual. Fortunately a number of us decided to tweak the plans a bit.
Bob Proulx and I did an early morning run a week ago Sunday and were enjoying a post run coffee at Peet’s in PQ. We saw Amy at the coffee shop and she mentioned that she, Denise and Rick were going up early to get a head start on the ride. Bob quickly grabbed at this since his training has not been significant of late. As the day of the ride neared, I too saw the benefit of an early start and hitched a ride with Bob to try to leave by 7:30 am on Sat. Bob had reached out to Jeff S and Eileen, so we planned on having a large group get out early for the ride.
It was a bright and brisk start but warming rapidly. We had 6 riders while Rick waited at the cars for the 8 am start of the rest of the crew. Bob P led us up Mesa Grande and then Jeff was on point for most of the rollers across the top. We all safely descended down to Hwy 76 and spun along Lake Henshaw toward the bottom of the East Grade.
We stayed as a group for much of the climb. Sheehan and Ernst parked at Mother’s and descended down the East Grade to meet up with the 8 am start group. We all expected to see Rick, Matt and the rest of the group come flying up on us before we got to the top. About mile 7 I picked up the pace a bit to try to avoid getting caught. I was able to scope out potential view spots for the Tour of CA. Voris and Oleg had identified locations about the 9 mile post. There are a number of places to park our van or car, including the Conifer Road intersection at mile 9.3 and the Gregory Pacheco memorial at mile 9.4. Oleg will have more ToC details soon. I rode looking over my shoulder just before each turn to see that the early group was still within sight and no super fast guys were there, yet.
We all cruised to the top and stopped at Mother’s. Less than 5 minutes later Rick and Matt came up to the parking lot. The group had closed much of the head start we had with a fast pace over Mesa Grande and awesome climbing. The rest of the guys were not far behind. Amy and Denise planned a few mile descent of the South Grade, climb back up and a return to the cars. Bob P wanted to just ride back to the cars while Jeff S, Eileen and I were headed down to the Y intersection.
I flew to the bottom of the grade and made the turn to start to climb, it was about 10:15 am. Jeff S and Eileen were just behind me. I quickly saw the whole Descender group flying down the curves of the grade. I had a bit of a lead and planned to push a bit until the inevitable catch came. The guys were spread out a bit on their descent and I continued to push toward the top. I looked over my shoulder often and was a bit surprised to not see another rider. About mile 46 I looked around to see Rick flying up towards me. I had just enough time to accelerate, get out my camera and take a photo. Rick slowed just enough to smile, get in the picture and then fly my me. By the time I put my camera back in my pocket Rick was gone. I kept up the pace as best I could waiting for more passes. The top came in just under an hour and I hit Mother’s in desperate need of a breakfast burrito. Eventually the rest of the gang rolled into the rest stop. There were plenty of motorcycle bikers and lots of bicycle riders in front of Mother’s, an interest contrast of activities.
I shared some chips and part of my burrito with Matt and Oleg before we all rolled out to the observatory. Jeff S pushed the pace, Matt came up on his wheel and we rode hard up the climb. After a brief rest and regroup, we all rode back to Mother’s for one last water break. Our group now consisted of Oleg, Matt, Larry, Farkas, Geoff B, Jeff, S, Eileen and me. The descent down the east grade quickly split into three groups with the 4 fast guys off the front. Geoff pulling me and Jeff S and Eileen sweeping. As Oleg noted, the road was very rough and bumpy. Maybe this is why ToC is climbing the East Grade this year?
We regouped at the bottom by Lake Henshaw to ride toward Mesa Grande. Geoff B had endured the early fast pace of the ride as the late start group tried to catch us. He was feeling the effects of all his weekday commuting and the hard ride, cramps started to impact him. Eileen had salt tabs and we all made it to the start of the hot and difficult Mesa Grande climb. I did not actually stay back to keep Geoff company, I was spent and kept up the fastest pace I could up the climb that just happened to be back with Geoff. When I finally reach the top I saw Oleg, Larry, Farkas and Matt waiting for us. Jeff S and Eileen had kept on cruising. Oleg went back to get Geoff and I went on, knowing that I would be sucked up soon. The winds were in our faces and the rollers hurt even more. With about 5 miles left Mike F, Matt and Larry flew by me and told me to grab a wheel; I held it for a few hundred yards. I looked back to see Oleg and Geoff riding together as I trudged toward the descent of Mesa Grande, almost home. The winds never ceased as I rolled slower and slower towards Hwy 79. I rolled into the Dudley’s parking lot with 79 miles and over 9,000 feet of climbing. There were many Descenders riders by their cars having completed their great day in the saddle. Oleg and Geoff came a few minutes later so all safely finished their ride. A number of pies were purchased before heading back to San Diego. It was a great ride and I hope all of you can join us on Sunday, 12 May for the epic ToC event.
Ride on-
All, 18 descenders have participated in today’s Dudley’s Ride. This was the first Dudleys of 2013 (usually we do about two Dudley rides a year) – and served as preparation for opening stage of Tour of California on May 12.
At any given time there were Descenders riding all over the Palomar Mountain today!6 Descenders (Rob V., Bob Proulx, Denise and Amy, Jeff and Eileen) have started riding a bit earlier – leaving Dudley’s parking lot at 7:30. We never caught them until Mothers.
8 other Descenders (Rick, Matt Babb, Guido, Geoff, Tony O’Gorman, Mike Farkas, Larry Murray and I) started at 8AM as planned originally.
2 other Descenders (Sheehan and Ernst) parked at the top and rode down East Grade to meet with us.
And 2 yet other Descenders (Steve K. and Jeff Langley) had earlier commitments but rode to/around Palomar at later time. We saw Jeff coming up East Grade as we were descending down to ride back to the cars – this was a nice surprise.
Rob will relate his group’s experiences in a separate writeup – and I will describe mine – there were two cars leaving Springmeadow – Guido drove me and Geoff (thanks, Dave!), while Tony who needed to get back home by 1:30, drove his own car. We met up with Rick, Matt, Larry and Farkas and left promptly after 8AM. Matt lead some strong, animated pulls along the Mesa Grande that split the group a bit at times, but we regrouped after the Mesa Grande descent, at intersection with 76. The lake’s water level was very low.
We met up with always cheerful Sheehan who was waiting for us at the bottom of East Grade, and Ernst descended like a hawk just a few moments later.
We started climbing together as a group (except for Farkas who immediately went for a solo breakaway and disappeared from our sights within minutes). It was perfect weather for climbing – cool, dry and sunny. I think we even had a tailwind. Eventually three Daves (Ernst, Sheehan and Guido) wisely dropped back as Rick went to the front to set the pace. Geoff and then Tony got dropped after a while too. Eventually we caught Farkas. But Rick only kept increasing the pace. Larry and I let the group go and Farkas got dropped too. We caught Farkas and rode as a trio until the steep section at mile 9.5, while Rick and Matt stayed together all the way to the top, with Matt burning almost all of his matches just to keep pace with "injured" Rick.
When we got to the top we saw Bob Proulx, Rob, Denise and Amy. Jeff and Eileen were already descending South Grade.
After refilling the water bottles we descended South grade – Rick quickly disappeared, and Farkas went for another solo breakaway. Matt, Larry and I climb together and saw other Descenders descend on the way. After some friendly lollygagging Matt and I set a faster tempo (while Larry kept a steady pace dictated by his powermeter), eventually catching Farkas with a few miles to go. It was getting hotter. Most of us rode to observatory and back, easy, and then started descent down South Grade. Descent was pretty fast, and the road was rougher than I recall. We regroupped at the bottom and chased after Rick (who didn’t go to observatory but instead set a new KOM on Mesa Grande climb), Guido and others. Geoff struggled with cramps (possibly due to the heat) and Rob kept him company. Matt and I caught Guido right at the top of the Mesa Grande. From there we split off into numerous smaller groups – I rode in the back as a sweeper with Geoff who soldiered on despite cramps, vicious headwind and a few hills left to climb. But we enjoyed beautiful views of pastures and mountains.
My Garmin was showing 96F, but I think realistically it was probably closer to high 80ies. After getting some pies at the bakery, we got home – 79 miles and 9,000 ft.
Selected photos are attached, others are at http://goo.gl/YdHt1
You most definitely should have come!
Hi All,
Oleg aptly described the ride well in his ride report. I volunteered to host a 50th birthday ride for Sheehan and planned to include two of the original Descender sections, climb up Poway Grade and HVR descent. Oleg suggested a route that included a number of great ride segments we have done over the years. My only requirement was that we had to cover at least 50 miles and I had to get Dave home in one piece; requirement from Laurie.
I drove over to Sheehan’s house so we could ride together for the entire ride. Dave Boyle was riding over to meet us as I drove up to the house. Great to have Boyle out again, he said he would not miss the birthday ride for Sheehan. We were about ready to leave, Laurie took a group photo and then Ernst rolled up to the house.
The four of us rode the 10 miles over the the start to meet the rest of the group. We covered the route Oleg described and eventually stopped for water at the gas station by the mall and I-15. A few of the guys had to roll back toward home and a number of us wanted to get an early head start for the climb up HVR so we all rolled out over the Lake Hodges pedestrian bridge. We started the climb and Eileen took off chasing Rick (the cop) while the rest of us strung out along the steep HVR climb.
The remaining fast guys blew by us before the Bandy Canyon turn. I hung back with Sheehan as we swept up the group. Jeff S and Eileen headed back down HVR near Starvation Mountain, riding back to the coast. We continued to ride up but Sheehan had to get home so he wanted to also return back down HVR. I accelerated toward the top of HVR to let the rest of the guys know we would be reversing course. The regroup was near the school before Archie Moore. The gang rode toward Dye Road while I turned around to catch Sheehan.
We descended safely together and cruised along Pomerado Road back to his house. Our ride was about 60 miles and 5,000 feet of climbing; not exactly a nifty fifty but that means we can use the route for many birthdays to come. Attached is a photo. I will upload the rest to Shutterfly.
Happy Birthday Dave Sheehan!
today’s ride was in honor of Sheehan’s 50th birthday.
This was a new ride, even though every road was known to us.
We had 22 riders overall – we started with 16 riders on the bike path, but soon had 6 other riders join us. It was nice to see David Boyle, who I haven’t seen in a while.
We rode through Santa Luz as one large group (always helps to have Bob Proulx with us for Santa Luz riding) – and Sheehan the birthday boy was often off the front, splitting the group a bit on the descent to Rancho Santa Fe.
Eric and Chad did some strong pulls on the Stud Loop, and the new guy, triathlete Dave (who has been racing with Rick for 15+ years, so he is not SO new) pushed the pace a bit on Del Dios.
We had Jeff and Eileen join us in RSF, while two superfast guys, Jim and Andrew, joined us at Lake Drive after doing Swami’s sufferfest. We broke off into smaller groups on HVR, as was expected, and some people turned back. After regrouping and some riding towards Dye Rd., only 4 of us (three Daves – Voris, Ernst, Guido and I) decided to do Mussey, the rest of the pack continued along 67 back to Poway. At the dead-end of Mussey we had a pleasant surprise – the road (which is typically closed) was open today! We rode down the "forbidden" road, all the way to the next "no trespassing" sign, very close to the San Vincente reservoir. On the way back, I fought the headwind with Guido on 67 and Poway Grade, while Voris and Ernst did some extra work by descending down to Lakeside on 67 before returning to Poway.
Fun day in the saddle, and once again, happy birthday to Sheehan! As per usual, a few selected photos attached and full set is at http://goo.gl/HX9fO
You should have come!
Belgian Waffle Ride
7 April 2013
Riders: Mike Hodges and Rob Verfurth
Let me start by affirming that 130 miles of riding is a long distance and a long time pounding the pedals. Hodges coerced me into signing up for this flogging and I was fearful to say the least. We both had increased our riding time over the last few months but I was way behind the training levels of Mike. He just completed the Ride Across California while I spent a week on college tours back east. He exceeded his 300 mile training weeks on multiple occasions; I was lucky to get 150 miles in during a week. The ride was 130 miles and it included over 9,000 of climbing and multiple dirt trail sections spread throughout the ride. To say that I had a bit of trepidation is a huge understatement.
I picked up the packets on Saturday and learned that the route had changed due to some private property owners. I was able to get a new route card to study the ride on my computer that evening. Mike picked me up early Sunday am and we heading over to the start at Spy Headquarters in Carlsbad. Mike sampled the Belgian waffles while I readied my bike. We spoke briefly to Logan and then got distracted, missing the start of the first wave at 8:30 am. We were taking photos of each other while the final instructions for the second wave were being given. There were about 250 riders in our wave and we jumped on our bikes just before the gun sounded.
The first 22 miles were a controlled start with a motorcycle leading us out. The biggest risk for the first hour was the yo-yo action of the peloton and someone hitting you from the back. We saw a near miss but no accidents as we looped south on El Camino Real and over the PCH via La Costa. I kept my eye on Mike as he moved forward in the peloton. I stayed on the inside to make sure no riders were to my right and kept much needed space from other riders. I paced myself off of where Mike was in the large group as he rode on the outside and just ahead of me. We rode north to Cannon Road and headed inland and north again towards Oceanside. The route got us just north of route 76 and onto the San Luis Rey bike path when all hell broke lose. The "racing" started with more than 108 miles still to go. The bike path was narrow and open to the public. Riders hammered forward, passing others, while runners and other riders were on the path going both directions. We fortunately exited the path after a mile or so; first dirt section of the day.
Everyone dismounted, climbed down a steep dirt and sandy hill and spun through the deep sands on the trail. The pace was fairly quick and a few folks had difficulty navigating the changing conditions of the hard-pack dirt to gravel to sand. We climbed back up another steep hill after crossing an empty aqua duct to get onto another rocky dirt section. I hung onto the wheel of a four man group passing riders left and right as we rode through the various depth of rocks. We passed Mike and regrouped at the light on North River Road. A large group of about 30 riders sped along until mile 31 when we turned north on Via Puerta Del Sol for our third dirt section of the day. It was a climb and dirt but a fairly wide road. I fell off the back but finally got up to Mike as we got to Olive Hill at mile 33.
We were now down to a four person group as we made our way through Bonsall. At mile 40 I broke a spoke and had to stop my bike to fix the flapping spoke. I quickly broke it off and set off again but Mike and my group were now gone. I skipped stopping at the aid station in my attempt to regroup with Mike. I saw him as we rode on Mission Road and before crossing I-15 near Rainbow. We rode together past our normal water stop at the church and continued north before looping back to the top of Rice Canyon. Mike led the way down Rice with about a half dozen other riders. We crossed 76 again and began our ascent up Couser Canyon. Mike was again on point and we caught up to more riders before the start of the climb. Halfway up Couser we rode by Willie Stewart, also known as "One Arm" Willie. He lost his left arm above the elbow yet has competed and excelled in many athletic events, including the Leadville 100, Ironman and Para-Olympic skiing. He was riding strong, quite an inspiration. I rode to the top with Mike a bit farther back, descended Couser and headed onto Lilac heading back towards Valley Center; Descenders ride in reverse.
Mike caught back up on one of the rolling climbs. We formed a small group and passed a number of riders before stopping for the first time at Aid Station #3. I needed both water bottles filled and some food, we had ridden about 68 miles. Mike got some food, drink and a coke then set off again towards Woods Valley. He was feeling the effects of the ride and needed to slow a bit. He set the pace all the way to Lake Wohlford before a large group formed just before the steep descent. I stayed back on the fast descent and the group split at the light with only 7 guys stuck at the red light.
We rode down to Bear Valley and cut across on Idaho to hit Citrus. We stayed together climbing up Summit after crossing the 78 and riding toward the Wild Animal Park on Old Pasqual. The Aid Station was along 78 and Mike continued to ride. There were a number of riders at the stop and the rest of our group stopped. I stopped for more food and drink before chasing down Mike. I was able to get on the wheel of a guy that pulled me to Bandy Canyon. I fell off his pace and then a line of 10 riders came from up fast. I got on the last wheel and we quickly caught Mike. We rode as a large group to the Bandy Climb. I made good time to the top and descended down HVR. At the bottom we took a hard turn to the right to another dirt section. We rode the Mule Hill Trail over to Lake Hodges, circled around under I-15 and then took the trail past the pedestrian bridge, Mike caught up with me and we rode together toward the creek crossing. It was mile 100 and we needed a lift. Matt Davis and his buddy were out riding mountain bikes and they were our cheering section as we rode through the water and climbed the rocky section up the trail. Great to see them and we really appreciated their support.
Mike pulled away as I tried to ride through the rocks and ruts, hoping to avoid a flat. There was another Aid Station at the marina parking lot; more food and drink were welcomed. We rode slowly up Lake Dr to get to Del Dios and ride towards Elfin Forest. One of the last minute changes had us skipping Elfin Forest but the reroute around to San Marcos was more difficult for me. Mike pulled us along and we caught three riders at Cal State San Marcos. We started the climb up Twin Oaks towards Double Peak; that road was long and painful. The climb up Double Peak was short but even more painful. By the time I got to the top Mike was heading back out. I took some water and a banana before chasing after Mike.
I finally was able to get to him along Melrose. We had about 10 miles of riding left. The route took us back toward the coast before looping back east toward Spy HQ again. My legs were shot and cramping along Cassia and Poinsettia. Mike stayed on point and we chased down a few guys. We both took turns on the final stretch along Palomar Airport Road and we finished together in less than 8 hours of riding. Our total time was only about 15 minutes longer. I estimate that about half that time was waiting at lights and the other half for our quick breaks at the aid stations. Mike kept us on task and moving along during the entire ride.
The Lost Abby Brewery made a special batch of Bad Ass Ale. We drank beers and relaxed around the finish. Logan had a great day in the saddle, finishing about 7th overall. The BWR was an epic ride and perfect for the Descenders. We will plan for a larger group next year. Thanks to Mike for working on my behalf during the ride. 130 miles is a long ride; but it was well worth it.
We had 13 Descenders at the Alpine Ride today. 12 of us (Rick, Voris, Larry, Geoff, Yi-Shiou, Klaus, Matt Davis, Bernie, Guido, Steve, Garet, Oleg) met at 7-Eleven and Jeff Langley joined us at the top of SPP.
Unfortunately Jeff had a flat on the Slaughterhouse descent and since we couldn’t stop on 67, we waited on Vigilante/Moreno. After some waiting we decided to ride up and down Moreno to get more miles while waiting for Jeff, and after more waiting we decided to start riding. Garet soon had to turn back and Rick was riding solo because his knee was bothering him. We lost Guido just before Harbison Canyon (he just gave blood this week and apparently red blood cells are important for cycling. My theory is he is storing the frozen blood bags in his fridge to be used for Monster Climbs). Otherwise the group was riding together very well, with no stops, or regroupings. The pace was relatively mellow, no rapid accelerations or attacks, but consistent and steady.
We had a lot of fun on descent, Geoff making a nice fast breakaway. As we turned to Dehesa we saw descender jersey ahead of us – it was Jeff! He fixed his flat but kept descending on 67 so we missed him during our Moreno loops! He was as surprised to see us as we were to see him.
Dehesa was much cooler than I remember last month when we did the same loop. At the left turn towards Tavern Rd. we saw Guido, and when we arrived at the CVS store in Alpine we saw none other than Rick sitting on the curb. The gang was together once again. Matt had a slow leaking flat at the top of Dehesa but he made it to the store eventually too.
We descended towards El Monte and 8 of us decided to ride out to reservoir. It was windy so we established a beautiful and super-smooth paceline. After 14 miles of pacelining, it was time for me and Larry to part with the group – we rode from home, so we had to take a shortcut through beautiful Lakeside, Santee, 52 bike path and ever so scenic Clairemont Mesa Blvd. When we rode up 52 bike path Larry nearly rode over a giant rattle snake just baking there in the sun. It was the biggest rattle snake I have ever seen! Eventually we made it through Clairemont Mesa – by the time I got home I had ridden over 100 miles, and Larry must have had too.
Great day in Alpine, some photos are attached.
You should have come,
HVR, Ramona Grade and Pamo Loop
31 March 2013
by Rob Verfurth
Dave Voris called for a group ride on Easter Sunday. We met at 8 am at the corner of RB and Pomerado Roads. Bob Proulx and I rode over to the start where we met up with John M, Ernst, Bernie, Len (TE) and Voris. Bob was only going to ride short and planned a turnaround before we hit Bandy. We all missed the fun ride to Old Julian the previous day so we set a similar route; not that anyone was looking at Strava segments! We rode up HVR and turned down Bandy Canyon. Bob headed back at this point. We cruised along towards the Ramona Grade attempting to get into a pace line. The plan was to ride down Pamo and regroup on the way back up.
Voris led the way up Ramona Grade before Bernie took over, followed by Len and Ernst. I fell off the back and John swept up the group. At Haverford Road we turned towards Pamo. It was a beautiful morning and the descent was picturesque. At the end of the road we stopped to talk to the bird watchers for a few minutes before starting the climb back out of Pamo Valley. Ernst took a liking to the cows in the field so he stopped to chat with them. I took off to get to the top of the climb before the guys and was able to capture a few good photos of them riding to the top with the valley floor in the background. John met us at the top of Pamo.
We cruised through Ramona and kept up a fast pace line along Dye Road before hitting HVR. After the turn near Archie Moore, Len showed us a new route onto a road called Sky Valley. We rode a bit on dirt and then lots of curvy road back over to the top of the HVR descent where we regrouped one last time. I headed out first to get a lead. I was quickly swallowed up by Bernie, Voris and Ernst by the time we rode past Starvation Mountain. I held their wheels down to the flats of HVR. A young rider had damaged his tire so the guys stopped to assist.
I pedaled out and turned west on Pomerado, over I-15 and rode toward 4S. I circled behind Black Mountain and got home before noon. I estimated my mileage since I forgot to recharge my Garmin. A great way to spend Easter morning, riding with the Descenders.
Ride on-
Descenders:
Strava says that we had Desenders in several locations today.
The scheduled ride went to Old Julian, HVR, etc., and sounded like several attended.
Some of us, notably Rick, Dave V, myself and my son that’s on the spectrum, Alec, were once again the lead-out bike riding Bunnies at the Race for Autism 5k in Balboa Park. Dave V is friendly of the founders of the Race for Autism and has held the Rabbit duties every year.
Rick is nursing a sore knee so regular Descender rides are off for the time being, so he welcomed the opportunity to join the rabbit contingent, bunny ears and all (pics attached).
With Alec’s bike riding skills still being somewhat erratic (slow on the descents, fly’s up the climbs – my polar opposite) having the four of us this year was perfect. Alec and I got a head start and good lead on the (fast) lead runners so we could complete the sketchy initial sections of the route in peace, while Rick and Dave V lead-out the thousands of runners. Alec and I joined the point at the bridge while Dave V floated back to take the rabbit position for the leading woman runner.
The lead runner gaped the field so Rick took the point while Alec and fell back to the second place runner. After a few minutes Alec started raising his game and started pushing the pace to catch Rick (Alec is fully aware of Rick’s strength) and wanted to take the lead rabbit position. I had to laugh when Alec rode right in front of Rick, then slowed down slightly, as if to say take my wheel. I quickly got Alec to move up a bit and Alec ended up leading the group at the finish. Perfect.
The Race for Autism is a great event for a good cause and we’re happy to be able to help.
See ya on the road tomorrow.
San Diego Descenders Cycling Club 
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