LKHC Page Mill Road

On our way, somewhere in Los Altos, to Arastradero, the starting point for the LKHC Page Mill Road event, Miss P. and I got a wee bit lost. [photo above by Josh; pretty low key, eh]

Define fortuitous: Lost in front of a fire station with buff firemen ready to serve ....

But Miss P. whipped out her handy dandy Android thingy to steer us back on track.
Because, after all, we are self sufficient, independent women.
And because, well, men really are only good for one thing. oh oh, I'm in trouble now.
Still, the thoughts I had about those firemen coming to our rescue.
Focus, damn it, focus on the biking, The Boyfriend says from our neighbors to the north.

Alas, we showed up on time. Dan the Man organized us by groups. First up to go, children and us. Sigh, don't even ask. But, it was a treat to be surrounded by cyclists as we biked up Page Mill Road. Got my engines fired up. All those delicious men. Yeah, they motivated me alrighty. Focus, damn it, focus, The Boyfriend, says again from the country to the our north. Oh but I was, Mister ....

What a lovely day to be out. I've been confined to my home due to a relentless kewtie that invaded my body. Guess who I saw coming down Page Mill! Mr. S. How swell. And then, later, at the top, I ran into Thomas, who I met on the Eastern Sierras trip. And I also met Laura Hipp, a sweet woman. Plus, Miss A and Miss L were on board. I also got to try out my new SmartWool arm warmers with their girly green colored flowers. Very feminine. Matched my jersey and looked good with my nicely painted nails. Because these things matter.... But the day was much to warm to keep them on for long.



Nearing the top, a cyclist on the way down said, "Great job." Of course that's code for "I'd like to get your number." Oh oh, The BF may get on the next flight out to have a talk with me ....

How'd I do? Well, the results are not posted but I may have shaved 10 minutes off my LKHC 2006 time. Not bad for someone not firing on all cylinders and distracted by firemen and cyclists full of testosterone. Oh oh, The BF is probably in the air somewhere ready to have a talk with me....

Thank you Miss P for riding with me today.

Tour de Max

The Boyfriend and I did the Tour de Max, a benefit ride that involves 7,000 feet of climbing. The route we did (and one The Boyfriend often does by himself) is just about 70 miles:

Menlo Park -->Sand Hill Road -->Alpine -->Arastradero -->Page Mill Road -->Alpine -->Pescadero Road-->Stage Road -->Hwy 1--> Tunitas Creek -->Kings Mtn. -->Woodside -->Menlo Park.

We did this ride last year and it was the first time I climbed Page Mill Road as well as done any serious climbing. The Boyfriend was kind enough to accompany me to the first rest stop on Arastradero before leaving me. No doubt he was relieved to leave me as I whined all the way. It was early and it was cold and I was hungry.

I had no difficulty climbing Page Mill other than my feet fell asleep and I had to stop to shake the numbness out of them. I was jumping up and down when the SAG people stopped thinking I needed assistance. I must have looked silly or even frightening like I was having a seizure.

I met a woman on Page Mill who said that she was delighted to see another female on the ride. I counted about 10 altogether though there may have been more. I said, "Estrogen rules honey" to which she said, "Oh, I love that. May I borrow it?" I think she may have been going through menopause and that got me thinking: a pause from men. You know, not a bad idea, sometimes.

By the time I arrived at the second rest stop somewhere on Page Mill, I was ready to do the entire ride. The road to Pescadero involves exciting scenic descents and some rollers in the redwoods. It was rather chilly in parts. You know, I've visited or lived in a lot of beautiful cities -- Paris, Munich, Brussels, Florence, Rome to name a few, but I think my two favorite towns in the whole wide world are Pescadero and Alviso.

As I approached the rest stop in Pescadero, the guys clapped. Most people were riding with buddies or coupled up with a partner. Very few of us were alone. I liked the attention! This year, unlike last year, I didn't do much joking or flirting with people. I mostly stared at the road while climbing or looked at people's legs. Leaving the area, you go along Stage which starts out like the photo below.

The top photo is of Stage as well; I biked for awhile with a woman. This year, unlike last year, I was always surrounded by other bikers. The last climb involved Tunitas Creek (photo below). I borrowed the photos from some guy's Flickr set.

It's a hard climb and it seems to go on and on. And then suddenly you're out of the woods and flying down Kings Mtn and almost home again (where once again, a few guys cheered me on). By the time I got to Woodside, my avg. mph was 10.0. By the time I returned to Menlo Park, I got it up to 10.4 avg. mph. Last year, I finished with an avg. mph of 10.2. However, this year, I felt much stronger. The ride took me 6 hours 15 minutes. The man and woman who had parked next to my car and who had started out with us, finished a few minutes after me. The Boyfriend finished in 5 hours 15 minutes (though he did lose some time by being chivalrous - escorting me at the start). The tour organizers plan to post photos of this year's tour; so, I may add another post. Next up - a biking weekend in Napa.

Page Mill Road

The photo was taken from the 2006 Low-key Hill climbs, this one being Page Mill Road. I, The Boyfriend and many very nice people and volunteers participated in the 2006 climbs, though the events goes back further than that date. Take a look at the 2007 climbs slated for this September. Saturday, I decided to bike Page Mill in yet another effort to develop climbing muscles in my weenie legs. The Boyfriend wasn't around to forget the camera this time. I met a lovely woman who stayed with me for a few minutes before she took off at a real speed (you see, I do wmph otherwise known as weenie miles per hour on climbs). The day was warm, at least in direct sunlight. Or maybe I just felt hot from all the good looking well built men coming downhill. At 4.5 miles, I was just about out of water, my head was on fire, I'd already done 2 gels and my legs weren't willing to continue. I turned around. I didn't even have strength going downhill. Oh but I did have the strength to wave and smile at those mighty fine male cyclists encountered earlier. I've done this road twice before and managed to make it all the way. Obviously something went very wrong. The next day I felt better and took the hybrid out on a 15 mile jaunt to Alviso. As Scarlett said, "Tomorrow is another day."

Are we there yet?

Once again The Boyfriend forgot the camera as he dragged me out for another ride involving climbs and undulating roads. The 34 mile route involved: Page Mill parking lot --> Arastradero --> Foothill Expressway --> Stevens Canyon --> Redwood Gulch --> Highway 9 --> Skyline Blvd --> Page Mill Road descent.

While attempting one of the steep inclines on Redwood Gulch (we're talking somewhere around 15-18% according to various sources), I toppled over (of which I have quite a lot of experience). Knowing that you are going to fall and can't stop it is a sickening feeling. I couldn't clip out. I found myself lying on the road with my shoe stuck in the pedal. I yanked my foot out. It was a funny sight to see the shoe in the pedal but scary while trapped in it on the road and freaking out that a car would run over me. Blood was streaming down my leg from my knee and I knew that later I would have various bruises and scrapes elsewhere.

I met up with The Boyfriend at Highway 9, showed him my bloody wound, and then we proceeded to ride the 3 or so miles together to the top where 9 meets Hwy 35 (Skyline). I kept asking him if we were there yet and he laughed and laughed. Biking on Skyline is what I imagine Heaven (if it exists) is like. The cotton candy fog cover hung in the mountains, tiny wildflowers dotted the edge of the road, a few vineyards hugged a hillside, with occasional glimpses of the sea and valley. Serene, pretty, magical, you know. At last I came upon Page Mill Road where The Boyfriend was waiting. The descent was more of the same, spectacular.

It's the Blog Lady

Saturday, November 18, 2006

As some of you are aware, I deleted my blog and started anew. Going forward, in the words of the opening narration to Dragnet, "The story (blog) you are about to hear is true. Only the names have been changed to protect the innocent." To my surprise when I arrived at the parking lot for Week 6 of the Low Key Hillclimbs, people asked about my blog. One of the top female cyclists said, “It’s the blog lady!” Yes, well, what can I say. Oh, I know, I like my gatorade shaken not stirred. The attention caused my ego to grow. Now if only my leg muscles would as well.

Today’s ride up Page Mill Road (8.7 miles, 2130 feet, 7 % avg. grade with some killer sections) starting from Arastradero in Los Altos Hills was an individual time trial, with riders beginning at 20 second intervals. I wouldn’t be able to pull the old “Hey, wait for me” routine. As we stood in line, 43 men and 10 women, I began talking with a fella who told me his strategy was to start out slow. My strategy? Hmm, let's see. I think you know what’s coming. Start out slowly and continue going slowly. A woman standing near us was wearing a WordPerfect jersey. Wow. I mentioned that I used to use ClarisWorks. The unicyclist was a few people behind me. He said he had his work cut out this time since he’d be starting after me but somehow I suspected he’d pass me again along with most of the people behind him. Sigh.

As we approached the starting point, we could hear a volunteer counting down for each rider to head off. It struck me as ever so serious, kinda of like when you’re about to go under for surgery, you know, and the anesthesiologist makes you count backwards. “Okay, Ms. Giggles,” the volunteer said, “It’s your turn. 10, 9, 8, … Oh dear, I better stop laughing and get going.

Off I shot and sure enough, cyclists who started after me, passed me and eventually the unicyclist did as well. Sigh. I was alone with no one to play with unlike the time when I rode up Page Mill Road for the Tour de Max. At mile 5, there was a sign for Happy Elves. Okay, I made it this far, so where, I ask you, were they? I got off the bike and looked around. I began to question the existence of Santa Claus, Rudolph, the Snow Queen, the Sugar Plum Fairy and of course, the elves. Lest you think I’m missing a few marbles, I do acknowledge and accept that there is no tooth fairy. Let me also remind you that you can visit Santa Claus in his village at the Artic Circle in Finnish Lapland. I even have a postcard from there with a Santa Claus postmark.

It took me 1 hour 15 minutes to finish. Yes, once again, I managed to finish last among the women and of course, the unicyclist got to the top of Page Mill before me. There’s an art, you know, to being slow. It takes real talent and skill. Anyway, I truly enjoy reading the results of the other cyclists; it's darn impressive but more importantly, everyone appears to be having a good time. This is a fun series. Thanks again to the volunteers responsible for these rides and photos.

Oh yeah, The Boyfriend, pictured above, also attended. I accepted his offer to escort me down since the elves weren't available.