Friday, April 27, 2007

5000 miles


About 3/4's of the way back down Stunt Road the odo hit 5000 miles. I put it on the bike 3/21/06. A little over 13 months to log the full 5000. Despite the short distance this was a tough ride. 2100 feet of climbing in triple digit temps. The ride back down was a lot of fun and took a lot less time then the ride up. The compact crank was a big help, it's a great investment. I'm sure I'll be happy it's on the bike during the AIDS/Lifecycle ride.
I had intense pain in one of my toes on the left foot. I have plenty of space in these shoes so it might be cleat position.

stunt road ride


Top of Stunt road. Top picture is looking toward the beach, Bottom picture looks toward the San Fernando Valley. Temp dropped to a nice cool 101

stunt ride

Damn it's HOT! I'm sure it's a lot cooler in the shade. Too bad there isn't any.

training and test ride

Time to test out the new compact crank newly installed by bicycle builder Will. Thanks Will. I was looking for climbs nearby that would mirror the Quadbuster that I along with 2200 other lifecyclists will face in June. It occurred to me that it's not just the climb up the accumulation of miles before you begin the climb. A hard learned lesson on my Lake Arrowhead climb. The Quadbuster on it's own doesn't look that bad but add 2 long rides before that climb and it will be much more difficult than its elevation profile suggests. Click here for Quadbuster.
So I figured that Mulholland to the top of Stunt road would provide a better simulation of the effort that will be involved. It's elevation profile looks considerably tougher and the total distance will be just about 10.5 miles one way. Click here for the ride. This ride includes one of the steeper blocks I've ridden in SoCal. Click here for a map of that section. For all the maps you can click on the elevation button to see the climb profile.

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Got the Compact from Probikekit. Arrived pretty fast considering it came from across the pond.

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Saturday, April 21, 2007

End of the ride

back at the start. The bike computer said 5 hours 33 minutes not counting rest periods. Average speed 14.2 mph. Maximum speed 46.5 mph! The downhill after climbing to over 1k ft. was incredible. A blowout at that speed would have been painful.
This event went off without a hitch. With 400 riders and a long twisting route, running sweep, providing 4 well stocked rest stops, a banquet on return and keeping it safe left me in awe of those that are responsible for pulling this off. I wish out government were 1/10th as efficient. We certainly wouldn't be in the mess we are today.
80 miles on a bicycle with the hills we had to climb was no easy task but it certainly was a great experience especially when surrounded by such an incredible group of people. If your looking to restore your faith in humanity spend some time with this group.
Final rest stop with Hawaiian theme.

lunch break. A very nice spread!

First rest stop. It warmed up enough to peel off some layers.

damn its cold. My cateye said 44 but if sure felt cold, at least to this wimpy Californian.

Across the street from Bike Attack. They had some very nice Lightspeeds there. Offering a hefty discount to Lifecycle 6 participants.








day of the ride

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

FDA Warns of HIV Drug Tampering

Combivir Bottles May Contain Another HIV Drug Called Ziagen

Medicine net article

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

HIV drugs 'still denied to many'

Just 28% of poor people with HIV have access to the antiretroviral drugs that could save their lives, a study shows.


Click here for BBC article

Thursday, April 12, 2007

mango picks the winning raffle ticket

Ipod raffle winner picked

Winner of the Ipod Nano is Gayle Woods, a teacher at Carousel School. There was a total of $500 in tickets sold. The full amount will go to AIDS/Lifecycle. I'd like to thank all the people that bought tickets. It went to a worthy cause.
I thought that Kiwi(African Grey parrot) would pull the winning ticket but he showed no interest at all in the bowl of tickets. I placed the bowl of mixed tickets on the counter and after a while Mango(African Grey Parrot) climbed on the bowl and picked the winner. We were surprised that Mango went to the bowl since she seemed to be afraid of it at first. I managed to capture the tail end with the digital camera. It's uploaded to youtube. I'll try to post it here.

Sunday, April 8, 2007

Arrowhead route map with elevation


I mapped out the Arrowhead ride with routeplanner. I could see by the elevation plot why it was so difficult. I wonder if the climbing had been at the beginning of the route if it would be easier. I also wonder how much a compact crankset would help too. Last time I climbed the 18 that was all I did, about 2o miles. I was 10lbs lighter and wasn't carrying 15lbs of stuff up the mountain.
Click here for the full route.

Saturday, April 7, 2007


We went for a short recovery ride and stopped at the only bike shop in Lake Arrowhead. They have always been real helpful. I asked if they would put up a fundraising poster and some business cards. Not only did they do that but Donny of Unified Ride Shop gave a donation! So if your ever in Lake Arrowhead and need anything bike related stop by here.
Their phone number is (909)33-3732
Address 330 South Highway 173, Lake Arrowhead. email unifiedrideshop@verizon.net

Arrowhead ride

This was the most difficult ride I've ever done. I've ridden 100 miles with more climbing than this so I'm not quite sure why this was so tough. A nice local stopped on Highway 18 when I was fixing the flat and offered me a ride, it sure was tempting.
There are pictures taken during the ride here and some taken on a short hike at the Lake here.
Still debating about riding the bike back. It should be a lot faster and easier.

Thursday, April 5, 2007

patched and ready to go

a flat. an opprotunity to

a flat. an opprotunity to rest

Merciless sun, 87 at the bottom of the mountain. Damn this is tough!

This is where I hit the wall last time I tried this ride. mile 85 today. mile 90 last time due some backtracking.

mile 65

stainless steel Denny's. wonder if it makes the food better. I've been listening to Zen and the Art of motorcycle mechanics. Read it 25 years ago and forgot most of it. funny being that it had such an impact on my life. Suns breaking out. time to peel off some layers.

route 66 5 miles to baseline

Bridge to old Pasadena. I'll take moe pics with the camera and post them later. Beautiful day!

Eagle Rock Colorado blvd

ride

mile 15 at Tuhunga and Moorpark. Overcast is nice and cool.

Ride to Lake Arrowhead

This will be my second try. I failed on the first attempt. It was very hot and I did not handle nutrition very well. I hit the wall at mile 90, near the base of the Mountain leading up to Lake Arrowhead. This time it will be much cooler and I brought along endurolyte capsules. I'll post cellphone pictures along the way.