Spring training!

Redding, CA is knows as a HOT town.  And in fact, it IS!  In summer, anyway.... days over 105 degrees are pretty common!  But in spring, it's heaven for cyclists.  Oak trees, rolling woodlands, livestock pastures, etc. all look amazingly green & lush for about a month in April, and that's exactly the right time to be putting time in the saddle!  Temps are mild, which makes up for the occasionally breezy day.  I've been riding all winter but looking forward to spring every day!  I could blog a bit about a few epic rides, one of which was supposed to be a 4 hr ride but after 2 hrs of freezing, driving rain in which I could barely brake or shift the bike, I called for a rescue, haha.... my wife just shook her head at me as I fell into the front seat of the truck, soaked head to toe and shivering uncontrollably.  But anyway, in spring that doesn't happen really... wait, except a couple of weeks ago when I got caught in a 20 minute hailstorm that about knocked my glasses off, followed by sheets of rain that covered the road with huge, heavy raindrops.  BUT, I digress.  I am actually attempting to write about how GREAT it is to ride in the Redding area in the spring, and I've got a few pics here to show what it's like!  We're also within an hour of Lassen Peak & Mt. Shasta, so there's no shortage of beautiful cycling with tons of climbing! Every ride I do is with the TdR in mind, of course!  I'm riding around 225 miles a week with the goal of 3 centuries a week by the end of April, after which I'll keep the same schedule but move those century rides into the mountains as we get into May & early June.  At that point we'll do a couple of hard training weeks, the first in Tahoe where we'll ride 4  mountain centuries in as many days, and about 2 weeks later we'll spend a week in the eastern Sierras near Bishop, cycling all of the high elevation mountain climbs they have over there with the goal of 4, maybe 5 heavy climbing centuries in a row.  If that doesn't get us ready, I don't know what will!  I'm hoping we have a pretty solid base by then, and after a 2 week taper we'll hopefully have what it takes to tackle 13 mountain centuries in 15 days during the Rockies Tour starting July 20! The ride I'm supposed to be blogging about today is a beautiful 72 mile loop that I do straight from the house!  I'm lucky that way, as Redding is a fairly small town of 85k people, and within 15 minutes I can be on fairly rural roads that are great for cycling with low traffic and nice scenery.  I'm still into fairly flat & rolling terrain at this early stage of my training, and I'm trying to build that base of mileage so I can transition into the mountains without as much trouble.  Four hour rides are the norm for me these days, and I'm making sure to ride a sustainable pace, since that's what our trip will be all about!  I don't stop much at all, though, so my heart rate is up for a fairly solid chunk of time.  The tour will be different, though, with our little stops for grub or a pic that will help the legs recover throughout the day.  The ride passes the Northern California Veterans Cemetary, which is a very moving place in the small town of Igo, CA.  It sits on a quiet hilltop outside the town, and those Northern California residents who gave either part or all of their life in the service of their country are buried there.  I've stopped a couple of times, but usually I simply roll by with an increased sense of gratitude for the life I lead.  After a 20 mile stretch of flat & fast section of Gas Point Rd, you cross the Sacramento River near Cottonwood and follow Ash Creek Rd. along a long, beautiful stone fence until a small climb lifts you up enough to see the mountains on the horizon.  A fast, gently downhill section on Dersch Rd. allows for a fun section of 30 mph pedaling in the big gears, and pretty soon you're back into the Redding area for the home stretch!  I rode this loop the other day and took a wrong turn, so it ended up being 77 mi, time 4:24, 2400' climbing, not that fast at 17.5 avg. but quicker than we'll probably be riding this summer!  I'm psyched to reach the 300 mi per week milestone and start doing long days in the mountains as the snow starts to melt.  I'll post any interesting rides and pics here as we go.  Thanks for reading!

TdR for Pablove - Day 7

After cycling Yellowstone & Grand Teton on the 6th day, we'll drive another full day to bridge the gap between our destinations, so we should be well rested for Day 7.... which is good, because it's going to be the hardest day on the TdR, hands down, no contest!  It STARTS at 7600' elevation in the mountain town of Estes Park, Colorado, and will take us to a high point of 12,183' on the Trail Ridge Rd., 8 miles of which are above 11,000'... making it the highest continuous motorway in the United States!  There are 3 high mountain passes over 10,000' to climb in this section of Rocky Mountain National Park, and towards the end of the day we'll still have to climb Berthoud Pass at 11,300!  We'll climb over 12,000 vertical feet on this day in total, with most of it over 8,000' in elevation.  The mileage for the day will be the same as most days, about 100 miles - but the grueling high-elevation climbs will certainly beat up our legs.  We'll be in the small gears all day for sure.  I'm personally looking forward to this day for the huge cycling challenge.  Big days on the bike really appeal to me because they allow me to discover my personal physical & mental limit.... plus there's always that cool sense of achievement that you get after overcoming a goal that previously seemed uncertain, maybe even impossible!  Apprehension & self-doubt is natural, I guess... but that turns into satisfaction and a nice confidence boost after achieving a big goal.  This entire trip is a big goal, for sure.... but I know we can do it.  I also know we can do this individual day - we've all ridden big mountain century rides with tons of climbing.  But it's easy to wonder... How will we feel on day 7 after 600 miles in the previous 6 days?  How will the legs & lungs do at elevation?  Will we be pummelled by afternoon mountain thunderstorms that will make the day that much more grueling? Will I have to sink to the depths of despair and climb into the sag vehicle, the ultimate confirmation of failure?  Probably not, but...the possibility still nags!   So we'll start from Estes Park nice & early because Trail Ridge Rd. gets lots of traffic.  We purposely laid out our trip to make sure we didn't ride this road on the weekend.  We won't have much of a warm up since our first major climb starts immediately... it's a 20 mile climb, average grade about 5-6%, and ends at Iceberg Pass at 11,827'.  At mile 23 we'll reach the highest point of the road at 12,183', and then descend a little before we climb Fall River Pass at 11,796'.  The last of the 3 passes in Rocky Mountain National Park is Milner Pass, 10,758, which is actually the point where we'll technically cross the Continental Divide!  The reward for all of this work will be a 30 mile descent into Granby, the last 20 of which will be mellow 1-2% downhill but it'll make for fast progress as we pedal the bigger gears and make up for the slow climbing we did earlier in the day.  We'll pass through the towns of Granby and Grand Lake at around mile 60, and then we'll start the last climb of the day as we gradually climb into the town of Winter Park at around mile 80.  We'll top Bethoud Pass around mile 92, and then finish the day with a descent into Empire, CO.  Our next ride day starts from Vail, about an hour down I-70, so we'll probably have dinner in Empire, & then hop in the car to find our hotel in Vail for the night.  It'll be an epic day!  Can't wait to see how it goes.  Thanks for reading

TdR for Pablove - Day 6

After driving between Glacier National Park and West Yellowstone on the day prior, we'll be starting this long day with a rest day behind us... I wonder if we'll feel better after 12 hours in the car, or worse?  Well at least our muscles will get a break!  The plan is to ride 126 miles through two national parks, Yellowstone & Grand Teton, between the Wyoming towns of West Yellowstone and Jackson.  This day will be special for me in particular because when I was 13 and flyfishing consumed my every waking thought, my dad's cousin took me to fish the famous waters of this area... the Madison, Yellowstone, Armstrong Spring Creek, Henry's Fork of the Snake.... but I was so into fishing that I barely even noticed the scenery!  Can you believe that I actually slept in the car once as we drove past the Tetons and through Yellowstone? I can remember Jim telling me that I might want to look out the window because people travelled a heck of a long way to see the views that I was ignoring!  Who can care about or appreciate life's most precious treasures when you're 13 anyway?  Well now that I'm 38... I care.  Believe me, I appreciate!  And I can't think of a way to more fully enjoy the mountain scenery than through cycling.  So we'll be riding mostly rolling terrain, with no major climbs and most of the uphill sections just being gentle grades of 1-2%.  That's good, because starting the next riding day in Colorado's Rocky Mountain National Park, we won't have much of that!  We'll roll past the Madison river in the western section of Yellowstone for about 15 easy miles where the bison and elk are easily seen alongside the roads!  After that we'll split off southward along the Firehole river, where we'll pass through a geothermal area which has the famous Old Faithful Geyser and a bunch of cool hot spring including the colorful Grand Prismatic & Morning Glory springs.  After about 45 miles we'll pass through the West Thumb area with its numerous lakes as we head towards the south end of the park and make our way towards the Tetons!  Once on the John D. Rockefeller Jr. Parkway, we'll pick up the Snake river and follow it all the way to Jackson.  By this time I think we'll begin to see the Teton Range as we ride.  One of the most famous views that I'm looking forward to seeing in person is that of the Moulton Barn, the last remaining bit of an early 1900's western homestead near the Teton Range.  It's also one of the most photographed spots on the planet, but I want to see it nonetheless!  This day is gonna kinda long, not terribly hard, but epic and amazing because of the world-class scenery!  Thanks for reading. 

Glacier National Park Video #3

Glacier National Park, Many Glacier Area, Part 3 from Montana Office of Tourism on Vimeo.

Last one! 

Glacier National Park Video #2

Glacier National Park, Logan Pass to Saint Mary, Part 2 from Montana Office of Tourism on Vimeo.

Another GREAT video.  Killer banjo too.... hahaha

Glacier National Park Video #1

Glacier National Park, West Glacier to Logan Pass, Part 1 from Montana Office of Tourism on Vimeo.

A couple of minutes of GREAT video with killer views of what we'll be seeing on our ride!

Icefield Parkway Video

We're gonna ride THIS!  Wooo hoooo!!!!  Right-click and choose Show All for a more complete viewing screen. 

TdR for Pablove - Day 5

I absolutely cannot WAIT for this day to arrive!  I've dreamed of visiting the famous Going to the Sun Road that cuts through Glacier National Park for years.  The views are reputed to be beyond belief, as the pictures hopefully show.  We'll start our day in Waterton National Park and make our way down the Chief's Highway, where we should have great views of Chief's Mountain, which has been sacred to the Blackfoot Native Americans for hundreds of years.  We'll cruise the grasslands until we reach St. Mary's Lake and turn west on Going to the Sun Road, a narrow, winding section of road that climbs to Logan Pass through 50 miles of some of the most amazing scenery in the world.  St. Mary's Lake is a destination spot for landscape photographers, and I've been drooling over pictures like the one above ever since I first wanted to be Ansel Adams.  We'll enter the park as we roll past the St. Mary's Lake, and soon we'll start the climb to Logan Pass at the elevation of 6600', which will be a good warm up for the high mountain  passes of  Colorado, most of which are between 10,000 - 11,500'! I fully plan on picking the smallest gear I have and just spinning up the climb with a slow, easy effort just so I can maximize the time for taking in the views! I guess I'll always be climbing passes this way, even though I prefer to climb more powerfully.... I'll have to remember that I'm in this for the LONG haul, day after day, and can't afford to do anything other than low heart-rate, moderate, aerobic cycling.  As we start to climb we'll see Mt. Jackson, and the Jackson Glacier (5th largest in the park) to the south, and Going to the Sun Mountain on our right to the north.  Somewhere along the way, we'll pass the Weeping Wall, where a waterfall seeps out of the mountain-side and soaks the road.... if it's hot, we'll be glad for that!  The climb to Logan pass isn't more than 6% for about 7 miles, and then we'll have an amazing 3000', 10 mile descent down the backside with killer views of Bird Woman Falls, which cascades almost 500' down the cliffs below Mt. Oberlin... check out the pic of it below.  I normally love fast, twisty mountain descents but I guarantee I'm gonna be on the brakes, crusing, standing up, stretching the legs & back, resting the butt..... and soaking up the world-class views.  It'll pass by way too quickly, and I'll be imprinting memories as best I can as I realize a dream come true!  Once the road flattens again, we'll spin past Lake McDonald, another famous spot for photography that I've always wanted to visit.  At this point we'll be pretty tired but exhilarated, and the rest of the riding to our hotel in Hungry Horse, Montana will be mostly moderate, rolling terrain over about 25 miles as we finish the 5th day of the northern part of the Tour de Rockies!  Thanks for reading.  

TdR for Pablove - Day 4

I'm thinkin' day 4 might be a bit grueling because of the wind!  This ranchland area on the eastern side of the Canadian Rockies looks beautiful from the photos, and it will be really fun to ride moderate, rolling roads for 118 miles... but this area is known for the chinook winds, to the point that there are areas where the windmills are lined up along the road to harvest the wind energy!  This might be a LONG day if the winds are blowing... but maybe it'll be a tailwind and we'll get pushed all the way to Waterton National Park!  Hmmm.  If it's a cross or headwind, then we'll need to conserve energy in a paceline, which is where we sit on the wheel of the rider in front us and save energy because of the drafting effect.  We'll all take turns as the lead rider, and switch regularly because that person takes all of the wind and has to work harder, but then gets a significant rest when taking a turn behind the others.  The amount of climbing over this route is a little less than 4000', so it seems like over 118 miles that's gotta just be due to the rolling terrain as compared to any major climbs.  The pictures suggest that it'll be beautiful farmland with the Rockies on the horizon the whole way until we reach start getting into the Waterton area.  Towards the end of the day we'll turn west and head towards the mountains until we end up inside the park, where we'll stay on the shore of Waterton Lake. The picures from this lake look amazing... I wish we could afford $500 a night for the Prince Wales hotel, but after a long day on the bike we'll be glad for clean sheets and running water!  It's funny how when you're outdoors, using your body hard all day, whether backpacking, climbing, cycling, running.... it breaks you down sufficiently so that everything is easy and good by comparison.  I can think of so many times after backpacking all day, cycling for 7 hours, getting off a long rock climb, etc. where the instant coffee and freeze dried instant food you ate for dinner was the most amazing food I'd ever had! Somehow when you break yourself down, perspective becomes clearer, and extraneous crap matters a whole lot less... and the basics of life are so much easier to appreciate.  Thanks for reading.

Perspective

See the cute kid to the right over there in that pic with me?  That's my son, Grayson.  He and my daughter Taryn are the most precious things in the world to me.  I need them like I need air.  Their happiness lifts me up like nothing else I've ever experienced.  If I'm unhappy, they can reach down and drag me up out of the depths of  despair like absolutely nothing else in the world.  Their success is my happiness, their happiness is my success.  I know any parent reading this right now understands EXACTLY what I mean. 

Last night my son asked if I could snuggle with him as he went to sleep... a wonderful, sweet request that made me smile and feel really freakin' good.  Grayson is quite a cuddley kid, and I held him as he lay there in his fire engine pajamas, moving and settling in... I listened as his breathing slowed down, became regular, more deep....relaxed... and then.....he was gone to sleep.  I held him for a while longer, cherishing the moment.  I thought of how some parents who have lost their children to cancer would give absolutely anything for a close moment like that.  I know that there are parents whose kids are struggling with cancer right now, this very moment.... those parents must fear nothing more than losing moments like that forever.  A parent's most natural desire is to fulfill their child's request, to make them happy, to satisfy their needs.... in good times, and most certainly in bad times. 

Imagine being the parent of a child who should be healthy, who should be jumping, running, playing, bouncing, drawing, ..... but that beautiful, innocent child is stuck in a hospital with an IV in their arm, sick and unsure, and looking to you to ease the pain of their experience.  As a parent, what could be more natural than to try to introduce things into their experience that would allow kids to do KID stuff... even in as they live in a hospital?  That's exactly why I'm interested in supporting Pablove, and it's why I hope you do as well, through donations to our fundraiser ride - because funds from the Pablove Foundation go directly to helping cancer kids PLAY.  Isn't that what kids should be doing?  Pablove helps to bring art, music, recreation, and fun to the hospital in the form of a cancer unit play room!  When I read that in their mission statement, it spoke to the parent in me and it was over.  I knew we'd ride on behalf of the Pablove Foundation. 

Because the Castelaz family was willing to share the experience of their son, Pablo, and his fight with cancer through the Pablove Ride Across America and the Pablove Foundation, I have a strenghtened perspective.  I appreciate moments like the one last night with my son, who is Pablo's age, more than ever because of their experience.  Perspective is good. 

Thanks for reading.

TdR for Pavlove - Day 3

We'll start day three by riding out of the Bow Valley and hooking up with Highway 40, a road they call the Kananaskis Trail or Bighorn Highway, which will lead us south into the Peter Loughwood Provincial Park.  From what I can tell, the scenery will continue to amaze us but will gradually soften once we climb Highwood Pass near Mt. Arethusa in the Misty Range of the Rockies around mile 60.  The Highwood river originates there, and we'll follow it as we descend the back side of the pass and down the east side of the divide and into farm and cattle land. Once we connect with Highway 541, we'll keep following the

river through the Eden Valley until we end up in Longview! These first few days look like they'll have a moderate of climbing... at least compared to the 2nd half in Colorado, anyway. This day will be around 4000' feet of vertical gain, and it will be our first longer day at 110 miles..... the map suggests we'll climb moderate grades, maybe less than 3%, but sustained over about 30 miles until we then zoom off the back side of the pass with a generally downhill ride until we get to Longview! I can't wait to see the landscape transitioning from high, glacial peaks to the foothills of the Rockies and the flat farmlands..... watching the scenery pass as you speed through the open air is an amazing feeling! Thanks for reading.

TdR for Pablove - Day 2

The second day on the Icefields Parkway will take us from  The Crossing to Banff National Park!  The scenery will certainly continute to be jaw-dropping as we roll southward past the Columbia Icefield glaciers, Lake Louise, Peyto Lake, Moraine Lake, Castle Mountain, and and the many other heavily glaciated peaks of the Canadian Rockies.  I've always wanted to see the amazing waters of Peyto Lake, which has the most incredible blue water because of the glacial silt that flows in from the river.  I've seen countless landscape shots of this spot, one of the most photographed places on the planet... and we'll be riding by the very spot!  We'll actually ride through Banff and make our way into the Bow Valley and spend the night in Canmore, which is a smaller town in the immediate area that sits beneath the peaks of the Three Sisters.  Our plan is to Twitter updates and pics as we ride, stop at the view, etc.... as long as we can pick up a cell signal!  We'll upload any more photos, video, and a written blog post each night from the laptop in the hotel room....  Hmm, but maybe that'll have to wait until after a fat meal and a bit of hot tub time!   Thanks for reading. 

Tour de Rockies for Pablove... Day One!

We'll leave Redding, CA on July 18th and make for Seattle, then Jasper.... lousy 'cause the Tour de France will still be going!  I wonder if any sports bars along the way will show the Tour?  Haha, not likely.  So 2 days driving gets us to the start of day one.... we'll ride south on Hwy 93, on the Icefield Parkway, through the Canadian Rockies for 95 miles. It seems like the route will be relatively mellow.... elevation around 6000', not a ton of climbing, although we will climb over Bow Summit.  Mostly we'll just spin along the Continental Divide with our mouths open like fools because of the amazing scenery!  We'll be following the mountain valley towards the a place called The Crossing, the one spot between Jasper and Lake Louise that

has a place to get a bed & some grub.  Along the way we'll gawk at snow-capped peaks, glaciers & the rivers that flow from them, the Athabasca & Sunwapta waterfalls...We'll stay overnight at the confluence of the North Saskatchewan River and the Howse and Mistaya rivers near the headwaters of Alberta's Saskatchewan river system within sight of Mt. Wilson. It'll be my goal, however, to always keep the perspective that while we're living, cycling, breathing easily, enjoying the view and fresh air.... others are struggling in a hospital and aren't sure of their future. We'll make sure to keep them in

our thoughts as we ride. We'll be in no hurry! I figure we'll be on the bikes 7 hours a day on average, since we'll be doing basically a century every day.... and with all of the hardest mountain riding coming on the last 7 days of the trip, we'll need to make sure we ride at a sustainable pace in the early part of the trip. I imagine on this first day we'll be so psyched that nothing will keep our spirits down.  Thanks for reading!

Here we go!

Welcome to the TdR for Pablove blog!  We're cycling 1300 miles from Jasper National Park to Telluride, CO starting July 20th 2010 in an effort to raise money and awareness for kids' cancer on behalf of the Pablove Foundation!  And we're looking for one hell of an adventure, as well!  The plan is 1300 miles, 100 miles a day for 13 days... but we'll have 2 drive/rest days in there as well to rest butts & legs.  We'll start in Jasper National Park and spend 2 days cycling the Icefields Parkway towards Glacier National Park, with Banff & Waterton National Parks along the way!  We'll end this first stretch by riding Going To The Sun Road through Glacier NP, a road I've always dreamed of experiencing.  Then we'll load bikes in the sag car & drive to West Yellowstone, where the next day we'll tour from Yellowstone NP to Grand Teton NP... after that 126 mile day we'll be happy to see Jackson Hole for the first time!  Another drive/rest day will take us to Estes Park, CO for a super hardcore day starting in Rocky Mountain National Park.... 3 major climbs between 9,000-12,000' elevation!  From there we'll tour the most famous Colorado towns as we wind our way towards Telluride... we'll visit Vail, Carbondale, Aspen, Snowmass, Crested Butte, Durango, Silverton, Ouray on the way as we roll over roads like the Silver Thread National Scenic Byway and the Million Dollar Highway.  The scenery will be freakin' amazing... it'll be the trip of a lifetime!

We're happy to be riding for a higher purpose as well on behalf of the Pablove Foundation.  Please visit http://www.pablove.org/ to better understand Pablo Castelaz and the foundation that his parents started in his name.  The way his family is processing the heartache and loss of their son is truly inspirational.  Jeff's blog and video posts from his 2009 Pablove Across America ride are wrenching, heartfelt, candid, sometimes funny, and always extremely genuine.  We're proud to raise whatever we can on their behalf. 

More to come!  Thanks for reading.