Negative Six

Posted March 26th, 2010 by KellBell

Well here we are again. Another year has come and gone and I am officially one year older; or as I like to say I am now -6 yrs old. Seeing as I feel like I am (and often act) like I am 30, and since I am officially now 36, I figure that I am -6 yrs old so that I am really actually just 30 yrs old. Makes perfect sense, right?

OK, it’s true. Despite what I used to say…I REFUSE to grow old gracefully. Screw that crap…seriously. I am going to fight it tooth and nail and stay as young as I can for as long as I can. I mean, let’s not kid ourselves. It’s not like I don’t take care of my responsibilities because I do, but I think I just refuse to be defined by a number. For some reason people hear 36 and they think I am this older domesticated person. Ha! Don’t make me laugh. While it’s true that I have become a bit more domesticated with the newly found love of cooking and of course taking care of Jeremy, I am far more active now than I was back then. I may be a few pounds heavier now, but I can definitely say that I am in far better all around health.

So as I turn 36 today I am embracing the fact that we can’t stop ourselves from aging according to a calendar, but that we are as young as we believe we are.

Happy birthday to me!

Solvang Half Century

Posted March 20th, 2010 by KellBell

It seems as if this has turned into more of just a “Kelli” blog instead of Kelli AND Dave, but we’ll just have to roll with it. It’s not that Dave doesn’t have a lot going on in his life. Trust me…he’s a busy boy! Perhaps being so busy, however, is what is keeping him away. Anyhow…

Last weekend marked the first organized cycling event of 2010 for me: the Solvang Half Century. I have been to Solvang before – actually many times when I was a kid. But when I think of Solvang I only think of the main part of town with the shops, the windmills, and the bakeries. Until last weekend I had never explored the outer laying areas of Solvang so I never realized just how pretty it is down there.

Many of you may be asking why in the world I drove all the way to Solvang to ride in a half century, especially when I do that up here on a weekly basis. Well…the answer is simple: Solvang is pretty much in that midway zone between here and San Diego and the Solvang Half Century was the one ride that my friend Alice could make this Spring. Since Alice got her bike last year we have been trying to find a time and place where we could ride together. The only problem, San Diego is at the bottom of the state while I am up here in the northern end. I mean really, it makes it a bit hard to coordinate a weekend ride when there is a 9-10 hour drive difference in houses. So Solvang it was.

After a very rain and very long drive down (for me) Friday evening, I was very happy to see the bright sunny skies Saturday morning. It was a bit chilly and windy when we left the hotel to check ourselves in right before 7 am, but I was excited because it was going to be a beautiful sunny day out there. After driving in (and passing hoards of cyclists already on the road) and finding a parking spot, Alice and I got ourselves geared up on the road to check in. I’m not sure how nervous Alice was since this was her first organized ride, but I was a little nervous as we were getting ready for our adventure. Not because I didn’t think I could do it, but mostly because I didn’t know what to expect in terms of how situations would be. The one thing I learned from the Gran Fondo: When you get a ton of cyclists together of varying riding skills you often end up in very chaotic and unpredictable situations. I was worried about how I was going to navigate Alice through everything safely.

We checked in, went back to the cars to drop some stuff of and then headed back to the start line. According to everything we had read, the half century was supposed to start at 9 in waved starts. What ended up happening is totally different. It seems as if people just started whenever they wanted to. After waiting around for a little bit we just decided to hit the road and get our adventure underway. When we started the ride we were told we would face head winds until about the midway point, and then we would have a great tail wind pushing us back in. Sadly that was not the case.

Despite the brilliantly sunny weather, the wind decided to make its presence known. For pretty much the entire ride we had to battle 15 mph winds. The head wind was one thing, but the cross winds – for me because I am still on Dave’s TT frame – were another. I did my best to shepherd Alice through the crazy winds but riding in a head wind all day means your pretty much riding up hill all day so it was tough. Toss in some in experienced or just scary riders and it was a pretty stressful day in the office…but a good day. In spite of all that, it was pretty darn amazing. The scenery was beautiful with the bright green hills, the vineyards and gently rolling terrain; and seeing Alice tackle her first ever organized with a smile and excitement was awesome. After a little over 3 1/2 hours and 51 miles we rolled into the finish line. Not only were we excited about being done and Alice’s accomplishment, we were treated to a visit by Brynne and she brought wine down with her to celebrate the end of the ride.

So…

- Thanks to Brynne for coming in and hanging with us after the ride, and treating us to some fabulous wine.

- Congrats to Alice for an awesome first ride.

- Thanks to all the police and volunteers that made the event possible.

I look forward to returning next year and doing the FULL century.

Sweetwater Westside Style

Posted February 22nd, 2010 by KellBell

My cycling adventures continued this past weekend. Earlier in the week Rita sent me a message saying that she wanted to ride Sweetwater on Sunday. Having never done Sweetwater I was pretty intrigued. I had heard how hard it was, but despite all of that I was ready for the challenge.

The idea was to attack Sweetwater from Westside Rd (this map actually shows our approach to Sweetwater backwards). Dave had said that coming in from Westside was the easier way to get up and over the climb. Since then, however, I have heard from several other folks that they think Westside is the harder side to climb. Given that I haven’t done the climb from the River Road side I can’t really say who is right, but based on the descent down to River Road I can only imagine it hurts no matter which way you go.

After swinging by to get Rita and Margie, I headed to Riviera to meet everyone else (Margie got a pinch flat so I had to roll on without them). We were a small little group of 5 when we started, but man we punched it out the gates. We picked up Laurie on the way out at the end of Slusser and rolled our way along to Westside and eventually the turn off to Sweetwater. Now Rita and Margie had rolled ahead when the rest of us made a pit stop after crossing Wholer Bridge so after saying good-bye to Laurie (it was an off day for her so she wanted to keep it flatter) Lauren, Terri and I made our way up Sweetwater. From everything we heard the actual climb up Sweetwater was only 1.5 miles long. The only problem we had was that none of us knew where the climb began. After climbing up a bit and then rolling down and along some more we finally caught Rita and Margie. Rita confirmed that we hadn’t even hit the climb yet so we all settled in for the eventual adventure. We finally hit the base of the climb and the pain ensued.

Supposedly Sweetwater has an overall gradient of 11% but what that doesn’t tell you is how steep some of the individual sections are. All I know is that I had a tough battle against gravity as I climbed my way up to the top. There was one section close to the middle of the climb that pitches to about 17% (or slightly more) and goes through a couple of switchbacks that way. Unfortunately for me, by the time I hit that section I was already pretty tapped and I couldn’t keep my heart rate down. Combine that with not knowing the road and I freaked out a bit and stopped midway up to ward off an asthma attack. I no longer carry my inhaler with me since I have learned to read my body and anticipate when an asthma attack may come on and I can usually slow down or ease up to keep it in check. That wasn’t the case up this climb and mentally I threw in the towel after freaking out and came to a complete stop. About 45-60 seconds later I recovered enough to try climbing again and after a few failed attempts I finally got going up hill again. It was slow and painful and my legs were tired, but I finally made it to the top.

After we all regrouped back at the top we started or twisty, crazy descent down the other side of Sweetwater towards Armstrong Woods and River Road. Not only did the road curve down the hill with hairpin turn after hairpin turn in a couple sections, the rain was waiting for us on the other side. Not wanting to extend our torment in the rainy weather our little train hauled it back down River Road into Santa Rosa as quickly as we could. A 20mph pace may not be quick to a lot of people, but after climbing Sweetwater my legs were tired and it was a tough battle to keep it going. But it was all well worth it because after 3 hrs and 51 mins of total ride time, Rita (very unexpectedly) treated us to a post ride lunch at Riviera. On the way back she had said how she wished she had her keys because she would treat us to lunch, and as it turned out luck was on our side since Jose was already there working.

So this is where my 57.54 mile Sweetwater adventure ends. Thanks to Rita for convincing me that I wanted to do this ride and for treating us to lunch. Thanks to Lauren, Terri, Laurie, and Margie for joining us on this adventure. And thanks to Dave and Jeremy for driving SAG! I still don’t fully understand why they drove SAG, but I appreciate it. The support and comfort knowing that they were back there in case anything happened was huge! Besides…how do you think I was able to get all these pictures? Until next time…

Goldilocks and the Three Bears

Posted February 16th, 2010 by KellBell

By now you should know the story of Goldilocks and the three bears. Well, that fairytale is only one version of the story. There is a far nastier version that I was introduced to this past Presidents’ Day out in Berkeley.

In the world of Northern California cycling there are two very well known races that occur in Berkeley: The Berkeley Team Time Trial (TTT) and the Berkeley Hills Road Race (BHRR). While they are two separate races, they both occur on the same route. The only difference between the two races is that the TTT has you complete the approximate 19 mile course once while the BHRR has you completing 2-4 laps depending upon your racing category. You may think 19 miles is a piece of cake, but when it comes to this course…well…the bears will do you in. Don’t believe me? Take a look at the ride profile before reading on…

With the TTT looming this weekend, a few of the NorCal ladies wanted to head out and do a training run. Although not everyone who went down plans on racing the event (me being one of them), it was a good opportunity for team bonding. I have long heard the horrors of the route from Giampaolo, Dave, Luca and Rita; I even witnessed Dave’s pain when he tried to complete the BHRR two years ago. What I have come to learn is that nothing can explain the joys and pains of that course like riding it yourself. I will say this: I hate the bears and Goldilocks is a bitch! Seriously, I completed 2 laps on the course (with about a 20 min break in between them) in 2:32:45. It was 38.34 miles of fast and furious descents coupled with approximately 3200 feet of painful climbing. Yes…that is 1600′ of climbing PER 19 mile loop! The only thing that kept me going up Papa Bear the second time around was the knowledge that I would hit a totally fun 40+ mph descent on the other side.

All of the talk of pain and misery aside, it was still pretty darn fun. The day was clear and warm, the reservoir was beautiful, and it was just an awesome experience. It’s true that I realized that doing the TTT was just not for me, but I may try to tackle the BHRR in May after I’ve been able to get more miles and climbs in my legs. Thanks, NorCal ladies, for such a fun day!

Muddy Adventures

Posted February 16th, 2010 by KellBell

What do you get when you have a half marathon out in Annadel in the middle of winter? Let’s see…Northern California in an El Niño year combined with dirt trails and over flowing creeks will undoubtedly yield one very muddy half marathon. This past weekend was the Inaugural Annadel Half Marathon – 13.1 miles of running through the beautiful yet challenging terrain that is right in our backyard (quite literally, actually). A half marathon is a challenge all on its own, but when you turn it into a trail run…well…it becomes a whole different beast. Given the rains we had in the past 4 weeks – and even up to the day before the race – I think you can imagine the conditions we runners endured.

I will summarize my first half marathon of 2010 like this:

1. Shannon is quick! She started out at a 7 min mile pace. I am proud of myself for showing some sort of self control since I slowed myself back down to a pace that I knew was more realistic for me. But congrats to her because she finished 2nd in her division with a time of 2:00:18!
2. While the mud and huge puddles made things fun and interesting (especially the creek of mid shin deep water), I think it was harder on my body in someways. My ankles were very sore from trying to hold myself up and to keep me running straight although the slippery mud wanted me to do something else (like fall).
3. Changing your watch to track things in kilometers without realizing it is a bad thing. Since I thought it was in miles I figured my GPS was not working properly and had to resort to guesstimating how many more miles were left based on my knowledge of the trails and how much time had elapsed.
4. Proper training can indeed make a difference. Was I fully trained? No, but I was definitely closer to where I should be pre-race than I have been my past 2 half marathons. Then again, I don’t think any amount of training will ever make running up Canyon and Marsh easy.

In the end I finished my run in 2:31:59 (at least according to the official results) which was good for 16th in my division. I am not quick like Shannon, but it was a good 13.29 mile run for me! So…

- Thanks to Lauren for helping me train for this event. You are running it next year!
- Thanks to Shannon for not only training with me too but for picking me up and bringing me to the race
- Thanks to Dave and Jeremy for cheering me into the finish line. I love and appreciate the support I get from my family!

With this good start I am now looking forward to the Windsor half marathon in May and the first half of the SFM in July!