Event: Levi Leipheimer's King Ridge Gran Fondo
Date: Saturday, October 9, 2010
Distance: 103 miles
Summary: Epic
This was the second edition of Levi's ride. A year's experience made a big
difference. Everything felt smooth and well organized. Last year it fell on my
anniversary so I did the Medio (100K) route to get home in time for dinner. This
time I went all in and tackled King Ridge. It was awesome. Definitely helped
that the day was perfectly clear with very little wind.
Lining up with 6000 riders was crazy. Amazingly, more than half the people were
from outside California. And up in the front there were some young guns: Taylor
Phinney and Ben King, some not-as-young guns: Fast Freddie Rodriguez and Dylan
Casey, plus a whole bunch more names I sort of recognized.
We rolled out at 8am and it was chilly until the sun made it up above the trees.
The first 30 miles were mostly flat with just a few rollers. The pack gradually
thinned and I settled into a good group. We worked together and covered the
distance in less than 90 minutes, even with the slow start.
Then I made my first rest stop before starting up King Ridge. I should point out
there were eight rest stops over the 100 miles. This was great to help reduce
the crowds and I never had to wait in line the four times I stopped to refill.
(Don't judge, I drink/sweat a lot.)
The climb up King Ridge was really two climbs. The first wound through the trees
and reminded me of Tunitas or the lower part of West Alpine. After a descent,
the second was through open ranch land and we were rewarded with amazing views
of the Pacific. Up on top, the narrow road was definitely bumpy though not as
rough as I had expected. The descent to the coast was technical and fun.
The stretch down highway 1 had the most traffic of the day, but there were
plenty of CHP officers keeping an eye on things. Also worth noting is there was
traffic control at every intersection, allowing us to roll through all the stop
signs, and I only remember one traffic light along the whole route.
The last big challenge of the day was the climb away from the coast up Coleman
Valley Road. It started pretty steep then mellowed as it went on a little longer
than one would hope. Again, the views from the ridge were well worth the effort.
Finally, I was flying down the other side into Occidental, then cruising along
the flats back to Santa Rosa. Another improvement this year was that the last
few miles along the bike path have been paved. Finishing on gravel last year
wasn't as fun as you'd think.
The Gran Fondo isn't a race, but everyone gets a timing chip and eventually the
results will be posted. I didn't try to kill it, took my time chowing down at
the rest stops, and finished in a little over 7 hours, with 6:27 of ride time.
This event is a terrific way to cap off the season. Having joined the CoreTechs
team and riding a lot more this year, I felt about 10 times better at the end of
the 100 mile route than I did at the end of the 100K route last year. Definitely
a reward for all the hard/fun work. There is a reason this event sells out so
fast. It would be great to do it with a group next year.
Thanks for reading.
-Jon
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
The 2010 season has come to an end (at least as far as racing goes). What a great inaugural year for the CoreTechs Cycling Team. We have 28 team members right now, with the group split evenly between those that race and those that ride. We have five Cat 4 racers, six Cat 5 racers and one Cat 3. All of our racers are in the 35+ age category, though that would not prevent us from having younger folks race with us. Cat 5 is the entry level. You need 10 Cat 5 races and then you can upgrade to a 4. I encourage anyone interested in racing to try it out. It really is a lot of fun. There is no judgment on results, just go out and have some fun. Woman can race too by the way! We will be looking to add a few new teammates for the 2011 season, so when out riding, start recruiting riders to join us. Just have them email you and then forward to me or go to our web site for contact info (www.coretechscycling.com).
I wanted to give special thanks to Gordon at Fitness 101 and Dave at Ironkey for the tremendous support they provided. Really could not ask for better sponsors. The GREAT news is both have agreed to again sponsor the team in 2011 (along with CoreTechs). So, we will be back for year two! If there is any way you can support these businesses, do so! Check them out at www.fitness101.com and www.ironkey.com.
We also had some great non financial sponsors, including Menlo Velo (located in Menlo Park on El Camino). They offered the team some significant discounts on service, bikes and gear. Now that the off season is here, get your bike tuned up or get an upgrade from them. The discount they offered is fantastic, but regardless, their service and advice has always been top notch. Make sure to mention you are part of the team to get the discount.
Michael Kim (CoreTechs team rider) has gotten into the bike fit game. He took a week long course from the bike fit guru in Seattle and came back fully armed with knowledge. I admit I was skeptical at first, but I had Michael fit me to my bikes (two of them). He did a Fantastic job. He uses a laser machine to monitor pedal stroke and really dials in the position. If you are interested, email him at mykim@prodigy.net.
Through your membership the team was also able to donate $1500.00 to the Lucile Packard Children's Hospital. This is a not for profit team, so any and all funds that are not used for equipment or sponsoring riders, goes directly to this charity. On this note, your 2011 dues will be $30.00 bucks. What a deal! To entice you to sign up early, as long as I have your size in stock, I will get you a pair of team socks with the sign up…as they say, while supplies last! For our sponsored riders (Cat 3/4 team we cover this. More incentive to upgrade for those interested)
So what do we have planned for year two? I would like to be able to donate even more to the Packard Children's Hospital next year! I was also thinking about a potential team bonding/training day up in Bear Valley during the winter. They have a great cross country ski area there. Thought we could get a good work out in and have some fun doing that for the day. Since Laura is an expert level cross country skier, I thought we could recruit her to help us out. All the team is invited and we would have a place to stay that weekend or if you want to bring the family, there are some very reasonable rentals in the area. We will also have our second annual team BBQ and many group rides.
Our race team will have a four "key" events in 2011. The full schedule will be announced once the race schedule comes out. We will though do one stage race in late March. The Top Sport Stage race in Copperopolis, CA - 2hrs from Bay Area. It is a two day race. They have a circuit race and a TT on Saturday and a road race on Sunday. Another team building event!
I think the whole team would enjoy the Levi Gran Fondo in Santa Rosa. That is a century ride that can be done at any pace you like. It occurred just this last weekend, Oct 9th. Jon H did the ride and loved it. His ride report will be posted just after this note. (URL: http://www.levisgranfondo.com). Could be fun for all of us.
We have lots of gear left as well. If you don’t have a full kit (jersey and shorts), make sure to contact Gordon (gbliss@fitness101.com). He can hook you up with the jersey's or shorts. Also looking for gear input. I have lots of thoughts, but would like to hear from you as to what gear you would like us to get.
I am contemplating ordering an alternative kit to go with our current white kit. One thought is basically the same kit but in reverse colors. So where there is white, it would be black and where black, it would be white (except on the shorts. Don’t need white shorts. They become a bit see through and I certainly don’t need that view when you guys go to the front). Kind of a Winter kit or cooler temp kit (since the darker color would be good for that).
If you use FaceBook, make sure to become a "friend" of our team. Just search under CoreTechs Cycling Team on FB to find us.
Finally, give me some feedback. Is there anything you want to see or do in the 2011 or anything we can do to make this a better team? Would love to hear from all of you!
Stay in shape over winter!
I wanted to give special thanks to Gordon at Fitness 101 and Dave at Ironkey for the tremendous support they provided. Really could not ask for better sponsors. The GREAT news is both have agreed to again sponsor the team in 2011 (along with CoreTechs). So, we will be back for year two! If there is any way you can support these businesses, do so! Check them out at www.fitness101.com and www.ironkey.com.
We also had some great non financial sponsors, including Menlo Velo (located in Menlo Park on El Camino). They offered the team some significant discounts on service, bikes and gear. Now that the off season is here, get your bike tuned up or get an upgrade from them. The discount they offered is fantastic, but regardless, their service and advice has always been top notch. Make sure to mention you are part of the team to get the discount.
Michael Kim (CoreTechs team rider) has gotten into the bike fit game. He took a week long course from the bike fit guru in Seattle and came back fully armed with knowledge. I admit I was skeptical at first, but I had Michael fit me to my bikes (two of them). He did a Fantastic job. He uses a laser machine to monitor pedal stroke and really dials in the position. If you are interested, email him at mykim@prodigy.net.
Through your membership the team was also able to donate $1500.00 to the Lucile Packard Children's Hospital. This is a not for profit team, so any and all funds that are not used for equipment or sponsoring riders, goes directly to this charity. On this note, your 2011 dues will be $30.00 bucks. What a deal! To entice you to sign up early, as long as I have your size in stock, I will get you a pair of team socks with the sign up…as they say, while supplies last! For our sponsored riders (Cat 3/4 team we cover this. More incentive to upgrade for those interested)
So what do we have planned for year two? I would like to be able to donate even more to the Packard Children's Hospital next year! I was also thinking about a potential team bonding/training day up in Bear Valley during the winter. They have a great cross country ski area there. Thought we could get a good work out in and have some fun doing that for the day. Since Laura is an expert level cross country skier, I thought we could recruit her to help us out. All the team is invited and we would have a place to stay that weekend or if you want to bring the family, there are some very reasonable rentals in the area. We will also have our second annual team BBQ and many group rides.
Our race team will have a four "key" events in 2011. The full schedule will be announced once the race schedule comes out. We will though do one stage race in late March. The Top Sport Stage race in Copperopolis, CA - 2hrs from Bay Area. It is a two day race. They have a circuit race and a TT on Saturday and a road race on Sunday. Another team building event!
I think the whole team would enjoy the Levi Gran Fondo in Santa Rosa. That is a century ride that can be done at any pace you like. It occurred just this last weekend, Oct 9th. Jon H did the ride and loved it. His ride report will be posted just after this note. (URL: http://www.levisgranfondo.com). Could be fun for all of us.
We have lots of gear left as well. If you don’t have a full kit (jersey and shorts), make sure to contact Gordon (gbliss@fitness101.com). He can hook you up with the jersey's or shorts. Also looking for gear input. I have lots of thoughts, but would like to hear from you as to what gear you would like us to get.
I am contemplating ordering an alternative kit to go with our current white kit. One thought is basically the same kit but in reverse colors. So where there is white, it would be black and where black, it would be white (except on the shorts. Don’t need white shorts. They become a bit see through and I certainly don’t need that view when you guys go to the front). Kind of a Winter kit or cooler temp kit (since the darker color would be good for that).
If you use FaceBook, make sure to become a "friend" of our team. Just search under CoreTechs Cycling Team on FB to find us.
Finally, give me some feedback. Is there anything you want to see or do in the 2011 or anything we can do to make this a better team? Would love to hear from all of you!
Stay in shape over winter!
Monday, October 4, 2010
Circuit Race: Monterey: Andrew-4/5 race
Central Coast Circuit Race (in Monterey at Fort Ord-Oct 2nd-they run this three times a year)
Commute: 1:40
Cat 4/5: 25 racers
Teammates: Mark Foster, Gregg Shores
I ended the year as I started, 4th place. Arrgg. Have to say it is all a matter of perspective. When I finished fourth at the Top Sport Stage race in Copperopolis last March, I was thrilled. Now; not so much. I have found that I need to learn to finish a sprint. I seem to under gear so that when I start the sprint, it feels good, but then spin out at the finish. I find you can not shift up during the final of a sprint, so I am stuck in a seated sprint. I have done this several times and it has cost me each time. I guess that gives me something to really focus on this winter.
The race started at 11:15am. I love that. Just great to not have to wake up at 4:30am to get to a race. The course is on closed roads, though twice a car passed us and once we saw two recreational riders out on the course, so keep the eyes open! The first lap started very leisurely. No one was willing to hammer, so we road it at a nice pace for a warm up. The course basically has three hills. Each is short, maybe 250 meters, and none are very steep. I would say the steepest (hill number three) is about 7%. There is then a sweeping downhill till you reach a 90 degree right turn. After that turn you have about 150 meters to the finish which is a slight up hill (maybe 5% grade). I noticed that in the September race, the guy who won it was in our race. He was wearing a Mission Cycling kit, so I kept an eye on him.
On lap three they had a prime. That is a prize to the winner of that lap. For this race it was a bottle of wine. I had no intention of going for it, but was in second position coming around that 90 degree turn to the finish so figured what the heck. I sprinted for it and was passed about a bike length from the line by the guy in the Mission Cycling kit. At least now I knew he was one to seriously watch!
There were a few surges here and there but there but for the most part the pack stayed together. Coming into the last lap (I think we did six laps) the pace picked up and you could feel the tension pick up with it. I wanted to keep myself in the top five to eight riders so I had a shot at the end. I would jump from one rider to the next as someone would try and shoot out for a lead. Coming into the final right hand turn I found myself in third position. Once we hit that 150 meter to the uphill finish, I sprinted past the second guy and was closing quick on the first guy. With about 25 meters to go I was spinning and could not stand so had to stay seated. All I could do was try and pick up the leg turnover. I got to half a bike length of the leader when two San Jose Cycling team guys pushed through. They knocked shoulders with me to squeeze through on the line. All four of us crossed the line within a tire of each other. Turns out the guy who won was the teammate of the Mission Cycling kit guy I was watching (there were two of them in the race). The guy I was watching finished in 5th, so I beat him!
This is a very fun course and pretty safe. There is one turn that you have to pay attention too. It is just before the downhill to the long straight away that leads to the 90 degree finish turn. Otherwise it is straight forward. The hills make is challenging, but not so challenging that you have to worry about them. It is a good power climber course. Not for those little guys who climb OLH in 17 minutes. More for the big strong guys. I will do this race several times next year!
Andrew
www.coretechscycing.com
Commute: 1:40
Cat 4/5: 25 racers
Teammates: Mark Foster, Gregg Shores
I ended the year as I started, 4th place. Arrgg. Have to say it is all a matter of perspective. When I finished fourth at the Top Sport Stage race in Copperopolis last March, I was thrilled. Now; not so much. I have found that I need to learn to finish a sprint. I seem to under gear so that when I start the sprint, it feels good, but then spin out at the finish. I find you can not shift up during the final of a sprint, so I am stuck in a seated sprint. I have done this several times and it has cost me each time. I guess that gives me something to really focus on this winter.
The race started at 11:15am. I love that. Just great to not have to wake up at 4:30am to get to a race. The course is on closed roads, though twice a car passed us and once we saw two recreational riders out on the course, so keep the eyes open! The first lap started very leisurely. No one was willing to hammer, so we road it at a nice pace for a warm up. The course basically has three hills. Each is short, maybe 250 meters, and none are very steep. I would say the steepest (hill number three) is about 7%. There is then a sweeping downhill till you reach a 90 degree right turn. After that turn you have about 150 meters to the finish which is a slight up hill (maybe 5% grade). I noticed that in the September race, the guy who won it was in our race. He was wearing a Mission Cycling kit, so I kept an eye on him.
On lap three they had a prime. That is a prize to the winner of that lap. For this race it was a bottle of wine. I had no intention of going for it, but was in second position coming around that 90 degree turn to the finish so figured what the heck. I sprinted for it and was passed about a bike length from the line by the guy in the Mission Cycling kit. At least now I knew he was one to seriously watch!
There were a few surges here and there but there but for the most part the pack stayed together. Coming into the last lap (I think we did six laps) the pace picked up and you could feel the tension pick up with it. I wanted to keep myself in the top five to eight riders so I had a shot at the end. I would jump from one rider to the next as someone would try and shoot out for a lead. Coming into the final right hand turn I found myself in third position. Once we hit that 150 meter to the uphill finish, I sprinted past the second guy and was closing quick on the first guy. With about 25 meters to go I was spinning and could not stand so had to stay seated. All I could do was try and pick up the leg turnover. I got to half a bike length of the leader when two San Jose Cycling team guys pushed through. They knocked shoulders with me to squeeze through on the line. All four of us crossed the line within a tire of each other. Turns out the guy who won was the teammate of the Mission Cycling kit guy I was watching (there were two of them in the race). The guy I was watching finished in 5th, so I beat him!
This is a very fun course and pretty safe. There is one turn that you have to pay attention too. It is just before the downhill to the long straight away that leads to the 90 degree finish turn. Otherwise it is straight forward. The hills make is challenging, but not so challenging that you have to worry about them. It is a good power climber course. Not for those little guys who climb OLH in 17 minutes. More for the big strong guys. I will do this race several times next year!
Andrew
www.coretechscycing.com
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