Conference noted::bicycle

3038.0. "Palo Alto trip report" by HYLNDR::OUELLETTE (Buddy Ouellette) Fri Dec 22 1995 14:07

At the beginning of November, I took my road bike with me on a business trip
to Palo Alto, CA and had a great time.  I'm mostly a read-only user of this
notesfile, but have enjoyed reading other people's experiences, so I want to
share some of mine with those that may be interested.

Palo Alto trip report follows:

Backround:

For the most part, I've been a recreational cyclist since about the summer of
1991 when I bought my first (and only) road racer: a brand new Paramount OS
Series 3.  An affordable, steel, entry-level racer with Shimano RX100
components that weiged in at about 23.5 lbs.  Since then, I've been riding it
about 2500 - 3500 miles a year, taking short rides at lunch and longer ones
with friends on weekend mornings.  I do an occasional citizen's race and about
2 centuries a year.

I've done some reading about Palo Alto in the past, in the cycling magazines
and they make it out to be quite a cycling hotbed...   it is.

The purpose of my trip was to present the Performance Tools Group at Western
Research Labs with a testing plan and Quality Assurance strategy for the
products they are developing.  Amazingly, the QA person they just hired was
the same fellow noter I had bought used shift levers from about a year ago!
Artie Alvidrez is a very strong rider and an endurance athlete who is a member
of the Alto Velo racing club out there.  In discussions prior to the trip, I
mentioned to Artie that I'd like to do some riding while I was out there,
since the weather was nice - 70s and sunny, compared to the 40 degree temps
and rain the Boston area was getting.  He was all for it and set me up quite
nicely with information on a few weekend rides in the area.

After making a few phone calls to United, UPS, and Federal Express, I decided
to have my bike shipped to the Hotel out there by FedX - the cheapest
alternative - $36. (without insurance)  I stopped by my local bike shop for a
box and brought the package to FedX after disassembling the bike and placing
it in.  I brought it down on a Wednesday and it got there on Friday a few
hours before I did!  The only damage I noticed was that the front hub was
sticking through a hole in the box.  Must have been some weight on it to push
it through.  I made a mental note to buy some insurance the next time I sent
it.

I blew off the morning ride Artie sent me mail on in favor of venturing out on
my own and taking about a 45 mile cruise around the area.  The problem was, I
didn't know where to go and I was really chomping to get out there since the
weather was perfect - 70 degress and sunny.  I decided to seek out a store
that sold maps, hoping I could find a cycling map of the area.  I found a book
which mapped out a ride in the Palo Alto area right where I was and jotted
down the rights, lefts, and street names that the route specified. (Yah, I
know - copyright laws, but I couldn't see paying $15 for a book I would use
for 5 mins, then never read again.)

As it turned out, the route I took was very popular because I saw quite a few
cyclists that day - probably more than I saw in a whole summer of riding here
in New England!  As the ride brought me out of town, the road began to rise
just slightly.  It was one of those false flats where you're huffing and
puffing just to maintain 17-18 mph and at the same time thinking that you're
more out of shape than you though you were.  As I approached the hills (and I
mean HILLS), I passed a woman who was riding the same route I was and going
just a little slower, so I asked her if she minded if I rode along, since she
knew the route.  She seemed pleased with having some company, so we both rode
to the base of Old LaHonda Road together.

Man, this thing started right up from nowhere, with no gradual approach.  The
ride up was exhilerating and beautiful.  The redwoods were an awesome site!
I've never seen trees so wide and tall.  This hill was nothing like I had ever
climbed around the North Shore of Boston.  It was steep and LOOOOOONG.  About
half way up, climbing in my 42x23, I was kicking myself for not putting on my
39 tooth front chainring before I left.  And to make matters worse, my rear
derailler pulley started rubbing my spokes on every hard downstroke, so I was
trying my best to spin a little smoother in order to avoid a long walk back to
the hotel with a trashed wheel.  I made a mental note to fix this before the
next day's ride.  After what seemed like 30 minutes of continual climbing, we
finally reached the top where a few cyclists were resting before taking on the
descent.  At this point, Ann and I descended together, but she took a turn at
the bottom, opting for a shorter ride.  I continued on to do some more climbing
(starting to get used to it) up to King's Mountain.  By now, I had forgotten
about my rear derailler, as the scenery was breathtaking.  I had to stop at
the summit and look out over the valley I had just climbed out of.  The
panoramic view of the surrounding brown hills, redwoods, and valley below was
awesome.

After a short rest and a Cliff bar, I started my way back.  Just a little more
climbing, then down King's Moutain road.  Man, what a descent!  I pictured
myself in the Tour de France flying down these steep, narrow switchbacks.  It
was a little unnerving at first, but once I got used to it, I let the bike go
a little more, not using the brakes as much.  What a thrill!  At the base, I
headed back to the hotel for some dinner and rest.  Artie's description of the
next day's ride was a "45 miler with a good hill thrown in".

That night, I adjusted my rear derailler cable tension so that the cage
wouldn't get so close to the spokes.  I didn't bother testing it on the road
because it shifted fine in the room (more on this later!)  The next day, I got
a jump on the other riders I was meeting at a local school just in case I got
lost getting there.  The ride was a group ride with the Alto Velo cycling club
which specialized in Men's Masters and woman's racing.  As I was taking my
bike out of the trunk of the rental, a woman rode up on a "slightly worn"
Bianchi.  I introduced myself and she said her name was Seanna.  Since I
noticed she was sweating already, I asked how far she rode to get here.  "I
dunno", she said, "Let me check my computer.  Seventeen."  "Wow", I thought to
myself.  "Pretty hardcore." (I had no idea!)

Later on, as more people were wheeling in, they got talking and someone came
over to Seanna and congratulated her on winning RAAM!  Oh my God, I'm gonna be
riding with Seanna Hogan, I thought to myself.  Not knowing what to say
without sounding like an idiot, I said "Seanna Hogan?  Wow, I had no idea I'd
be riding with (and as it turned out, far behind) a world class cyclist
today." She just smiled. (Still, I had no idea who else was coming)

A few minutes later, the ride leader greeted a woman name Karen, riding a
beautiful purple Kestrel with Dura Ace components.  They started talking about
the "World's" cycling championships.  Yup, it was Karen Kurreck, 1994 World
Champion in the Woman's individual time trial.  Later on, we were also joined
by Linda Jackson, who rides for the Canadian national team and finished eighth
in the World's road race a month earlier.

Well, by now I was both excited and nervous about riding with some of the best
Woman cyclists in the world.  Worrying about the potential of a lung bursting,
leg burning pace (for a mere mortal such as myself), I asked the ride leader
if the group usually breaks up into smaller groups riding at their own pace.
He told me not to worry.  We were gonna do about 65 miles with some hills.
They would wait at each hilltop and descend together.

When we rolled out of the parking lot in a loose paceline, it was a tad cool.
Probably about 50 degress with overcast skies.  We got warmed up VERY quickly.
The group rolled gently along as we chatted for the first 15 minutes...  then
it hit.  Moody St. to Page Mill road.  As we started up, I immediately told
myself I would climb at my own pace, rather than try to keep up and
potentially blow up half way there.  Good thing I did.  Most of the other
riders (about 15 total) rode ahead while another club member (Al from
Pennsylvania) gave me some climbing and descending tips.  Pretty nice guy.  We
chatted when I had enough air in my lungs to speak, but that wasn't very
often.  This was the longest, steepest, most challenging hill I ever climbed.
For 5-6 miles, this thing just kept going up, winding back and forth along the
hill (this thing should be called a mountain!).  At times, it was so steep
that I had to get out of my saddle.  This is when I realized I should have
taken the bike for a test spin after I tightened the rear derailler cable.
Each time I stood, I was able to ride for about three strokes in my 23 before
the chain skipped back to the 21!  Guess I tightened it a tad too much.  Boy
that sucker is finickey!  Muttering a few choice words, I was determined not
to stop and lose more time with the group fiddling with it.

After what seemed like a lifetime of chest-pounding, leg-burning, climbing, we
reached the top.  The group was waiting before the descent.  After catching my
breath and choking down a Cliff bar, we flew down the other side.  Man, can
these people fly down the switchbacks.  Great bike-handlers.  I was only able
to hang on the back for the first minute or so.  I didn't feel confident
enough in my cornering and I was practicing the counter-steering that Al had
taught me earlier.  After a while, I got the hang of it and started to enjoy
the descent much more.  It must have taken a least 20-25 minutes to reach the
bottom.  It seemed like a long time to be descending.  At the bottom we
actually waited for someone else for a change.  Seanna was taking it real easy
in the corners. Apparently she had taken a bad fall in the past and doesn't
like to push it on the descents.  Although I've never gone down badly, I can
relate, somewhat. I wasn't gonna push it earlier.  The consequences of a
possible fall at that speed and height are just not worth it.  Some of these
corners just dropped off into space and a thousand foot fall to the bottom.

After we regrouped, we started another climb.  With the memory of that first
hill fresh in my mind and legs, I climbed at my own pace again and met the
group at the top.  This time, I followed Seanna down the other side and
planned to catch her wheel at the base.  Well, that was my plan, anyway. This
hill smoothed out gradually at the bottom and as I tried to catch her, she
just quietly motored away like she was on a Sunday ride through the woods. I
could see her stuffed animal saddle bag getting smaller and smaller as I tried
to spring back, but even as I hammered along, she was pulling away and looking
so smooth and relaxed.  Her legs spinning slowly around as her muscular quads
pushed that big ring 'round and 'round.

I met up with her and the rest of the group about a half hour later at a
village convenience store.  We refilled our water bottles and some of the
folks went in for coffee and a huge coffee roll.  I just ate another Cliff
bar.

Anyway, after refueling, we rolled towards the next set of hills at a
leisurely pace.  As I brought up the rear, Linda Jackson floated back and we
chatted for a while about cycling.  She seemed like a pleasant, down-to-earth
person.  Once again, the road headed upward as we climbed for a short while,
then down for a bit through some less windy roads.  As before, a few riders
waited for me at the intersection of Rt. 84 where the road went straight and
flat.  At this point, the pace was slow until we all regrouped.  Once we got
going, the pace picked up so slowly, I hardly noticed for the first 15 minutes
or so.  By this time, we had settled into a semi-organized paceline.  Some
riders dropped back to my left after their pull (which is what I'm used to),
while others opted for the lane to my right.  There didn't appear to be much
organization.  At one point, we were doing 23 mph and the ride leader dropped
back to say "It's hard to believe we're going uphill, huh?".  I had no idea...
until the road gradually steepened and I started to feel it in my legs.  After
a few more minutes, I could REALLY start to feel it.  I really wanted to hang
on - after all, I was in a paceline on the wheel of the 1994 Woman's Time
Trial champion Karen Kurreck.

So, it was decision time.  I wasn't feeling strong enough to take any pulls at
the front and actually, it was getting painful just hanging on the back.  Not
really knowing what lie ahead, I decided to let them go and handle the hill at
my own pace.  Good thing I did, cause this thing was pretty long and I was
really starting to feel it.  My legs were getting very heavy and tired and my
lower back was starting to get sore.  After about 30 minutes of climbing, I
finally crested the last rise to see a few riders waiting for me before the
final downhill back to the school.  I thanked them for waiting and we started
rolling back as soon as I refilled my water bottles and ate another Cliff bar. 
I really appreciated how nice these guys were to wait for me.  The ride back
was pretty uneventful.  At the end, we totaled 65 miles for the day, with 5500
feet of it spent climbing.  I was wasted for the rest of the day.
 
I really enjoy thinking back about that ride and the company I was in.  As far
as equipment goes, one thing that I remember is that I saw a lot of Kestrel
frames while I was out there, and the wheel of choice seemed to be those
Spinergys.

For the rest of the week, Artie and I worked closely together and took a few
lunchtime rides around a popular loop in the area.  Artie was nice enough to
take it easy on me and slow the pace down, at times.  Later in the week, I
started to recover from the weekend mountain climbing expedition and we were
able to ride at a quicker pace.

This city has got to be the most cycling-friendly one I've ever been to.  The
motorists were mostly courteous and very aware of cyclists SHARING the road. 
I was really impressed at the bike lanes marked off on most of the main roads
in the city.  A nice, wide lane separated by a solid white line with the words
"Bike Path" painted onto the road.  Some intersections even separated the bike
lane from the car lanes with curbs!

Overall, I really enjoyed the trip and I'm most thankful to Artie Alvidrez and
the Alto Velo cycling club for their generous hospitality.  Coming back to the
North Shore, I really miss being able to grab a fresh bagel and latte just
about anywhere, and I can't seem to find a "hill" as long as Page Mill road.

Zowie, that sounds like it was a terrific time I bet that you're glad you
brought your bike!
						-- Tom

Buddy is modest.  The number of miles he rode combined with the high intensity
of these rides on this trip would seriously challenge anyone's strength and
endurance.  What Buddy doesn't mention is that he held his own quite nicely.

On the infamous Palo Alto Noon Ride, Buddy was hanging in there with
the best of the bunch, and we're talking some Cat 1s and 2s here.   But,
midway through the ride, some idiot rode in front of him as we crested the
hill at Alpine Road, and he got separated from the lead pack.  Buddy
and I made a good effort to try to chase down the lead riders, but
our small group was not very organized.  (Besides, we had to get back
to work, so we went the short way home.)

Thanks for entering the trip report, Buddy.  I hope we can do some more
riding the next time you are out.

Artie