STR | SocalTrailRiders.org

CeeDubb · 07-31-2007, 05:15 PM

Normally a ride report would start at the trailhead, but this one is going to start late last night. Maybe I should say early this morning thanks to PacMan. In response to my Who logs their rides? post, he talks about the Sport Tracks software he uses to track his stuff. This is at 11pm on Monday. Well...fast forward to 12:30am and I'm still up playing with the software. I need to be up at 6am or my whole morning routine was gonna be outta whack.

Anyway, I manage to pull myself away from the forum and the software. Both are very addictive.

Luckily, no one was meeting me for the morning ride because I woke up an hour later than I wanted. I brushed my teeth, fed the pets, and whipped up a bowl of Coach's Oats, then geared up for my ride. I think for this ride I'll be sporting the Pearl Izumi shorts and Gerolsteiner jersey. Debated on wearing my Specialized cycling shoes for a change (only used them twice), but decided to stay with my trusty and comfy Adidas.

Did I have everything else? Helmet...check! Gloves...check! Charged GPS...check! Glasses...check! Charged iPod Shuffle...check! Tire levers, patches, & CO2...check! Water...check! I had what I needed.

I opened the garage door and was relieved to feel a gust of cool air and I saw that it was a bit overcast. "Absolutely perfect!" I thought because I was rolling out a little later than usual. A quick fill of the tires to 125 psi and I was about to hit the road.

The first pedal stroke let me know that my right knee was still a bit sore, so I stopped and ran back into the house to take 400mg of ibuprofin. I hope I don't get busted for doping... Back onto the bike for an easy spin on my route to warm up the legs. The cool air and cloudy skies were a welcome change to the merciless sun that usually beats down on me.

There's really not very many spots to just coast on the way up to Lytle Creek. It's a slow steady climb to the top. It doesn't matter if it's the road or the trail. Getting your climbing done first means that you get to enjoy your downhill. That's the way it should be. No offense to the DHers, but there's a great sense of satisfaction of knowing you put in the work to earn your downhill run.

5 miles in...I think the ibuprofin is working its magic because the pain in my knee is nearly gone. The muscles are warm and I'm spinning at a consistent 85 to 90 rpm.

6.75 miles pedaled and 30 minutes in and I'm passing under the 15 fwy.

11.5 miles pedaled and 53 minutes in and I'm passing by the first rest area on the right. 4 more miles of climbing to go before I hit my regular turn around point.

Climbing is really not that exciting. I just worked on my form. Smooth seated spinning at high rpms transitioned to a few upshifts so I could stand for some out of the saddle efforts. I tried to emulate all the climbers that I've seen that seem to just dance on the pedals as they ascended up grades that were far steeper that the ones I was tackling this morning.

I eventually hit my turnaround point and saw the long stretch of road that continued up the mountain. It seemed to mock me as if to say that I didn't have it in me to venture further. Damnit! Don't mock me! I took the bait and pedaled on. Let's just see where this road goes.

Turns out that the road continued another 2.5 miles with another 800+ ft of ascent. I could go no further unless I wanted to see how my road whip would fair in the dirt. I see a sign that reads "Pavement Ends" and I'm disappointed by the graffitti that's spray painted on it.

There's that sense of accomplishment you get when you conquer something. Big or small, it doesn't matter because it's one more thing you can add to your life's book of "Stuff I Did." Is this little ride superhuman? Not in the least. There are so many out there that can do this route and probably do it faster, but it's much different to say I CAN DO IT versus I DID IT.

Well the downhill was definitely earned and a wonderful 35-40 mph descent came immediately after the climb. The corners were taken clean and fast...just put your weight on your outside pedal and look through the turn. The straights were taken with my hands in the drops, and my 53-12 gears. No coasting...I still pedaled.

While it took an hour and 10 minutes to climb to the top of Lytle Creek from the 15 fwy, the descent back down to the 15 fwy took only 25 minutes. A quick left turn on to Riverside Avenue and I was in the home stretch to my house.

Riverside Avenue is a simple almost straight road that goes from the 15 fwy all the way past the 10 fwy. I've biked it many times. I like it because if you're going south, and you catch the lights just right you can maintain a 30 mph plus pace for 5+ miles. Sometimes you can catch the draft of a big truck and there was one occasion where I maintain 41 mph for a little under a mile.

There are a few spots where there are bumps and potholes that you'd seriously need to either go around or bunnyhop. Riding the road so many times, I know where those spots are and I avoid them. Well, today I was only going 25-30 mph down Riverside. At about mile 29 or 30 I was in a little bit of a zone and not paying attention when all of a sudden my front wheel hits something and I'm in the air. My brain quickly processes my location and I know the exact HUGE bump I hit. My bike lands at about a 45 degree angle pointing towards the curb and I'm out of control. My attempt to save it was futile and I could sense that I was falling to the right.

Everything was going in slow-motion and I can remember saying, "F***!" as I unclipped and jumped off my bike to the grass on the right. The inside of my left knee hit the curb as I'm trying to roll into a ball. I hit the grass and slid on my right shoulder for a few yards.

I immediately jumped up and looked around to see if anyone witnessed my little mishap. Not a car on the road and not a person in sight. I consider myself very fortunate because worse case scenario could have been that I fell to the left and there was traffic next to me. Even if there wasn't traffic, I could have had a worse case of road rash and maybe broken something from falling onto the hard asphalt.

I did a quick once over on the road whip and aside from a few minor scratches and some messed up bar tape, it was fine. I hopped back on and continued the 8 miles back to my house. All body parts were working fine and all bike parts were functioning properly.

The ride ended with 38.08 miles logged and 3445 feet of vertical ascent in 2 hours 30 minutes 36 seconds.

Click on the map for the Ride Replay:

I urge everyone to not get too complacent on ANY ride you do. Respect the road and respect the trail. My little mishap today could have been much worse and I'll use it as learning experience and a reminder that anything can happen at anytime. Do your best to understand what YOU have control over.

Here are some of the aftermath pictures:

My iPhone case rules!

Since I crashed on asphalt going down a straight road, does it mean I have issues?

Pain Freak · 07-31-2007, 05:45 PM

Yes, you have issues, but don't we all?

Man, you are one lucky Mofo. Almost everytime I've crashed while on a road bike has resulted in some serious ouchies, and time off the bikes.

I'm not sure where you started your time, but I start from my house and it takes me 1:10 to get to the village. I usually continue on till the road ends too, unless it's getting late.

CeeDubb · 07-31-2007, 06:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pain Freak

Yes, you have issues, but don't we all?

Man, you are one lucky Mofo. Almost everytime I've crashed while on a road bike has resulted in some serious ouchies, and time off the bikes.

I'm not sure where you started your time, but I start from my house and it takes me 1:10 to get to the village. I usually continue on till the road ends too, unless it's getting late.

My house is in Rialto near Frisbie Park. From my house to the top of Lytle Creek is 18 miles and it took 1 hour 39 minutes to get to the top.

I started the 1:10 time from the underpass at the 15 fwy and Sierra.

I don't climb very fast, but I'm working on it.

Pain Freak · 07-31-2007, 06:07 PM

Cool we climb about the same. Maybe we can hook up after work sometime.

CeeDubb · 07-31-2007, 06:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pain Freak

Cool we climb about the same. Maybe we can hook up after work sometime.

I'd love to, but I usually don't leave the office until after 8pm.

That's why I do all my rides in the morning.

PacMan · 07-31-2007, 09:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CeeDubb

Maybe I should say early this morning thanks to SAR_boats. In response to my Who logs their rides? post, he talks about the Sport Tracks software he uses to track his stuff. This is at 11pm on Monday.

Hey now, credit where credit is due: I gave you the Sport Tracks heads up. Don't be giving my props to that SAR_Boats guy, he's such a jerk

I used to live in Rialto many moons ago. 845 Spruce St I believe was the address.

CeeDubb · 07-31-2007, 09:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PacMan

Hey now, credit where credit is due: I gave you the Sport Tracks heads up. Don't be giving my props to that SAR_Boats guy, he's such a jerk

Awww damn! My bad! What in the hell was I thinking?

SAR_boats threatened me and I got scared...don't know why.

But I came to my senses and made things right

PacMan · 07-31-2007, 09:42 PM

Oh yeah--glad you're OK dude. That crash could've turned out really bad.

I had a buddy of mine go down last year doing about 35mph on his road bike and he was out of the game for awhile.

Wrecker · 08-01-2007, 04:57 PM

Happy to hear that you and the bike are okay

CeeDubb · 08-01-2007, 05:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wrecker

Happy to hear that you and the bike are okay

Thanks...

My little wound will heal, but did you see the damn atrocity on my beautiful carbon bar?

cjwally · 08-02-2007, 07:59 AM

Cool write up. Makes me want to leave work and go out for a spin.... Too bad it is only 9:00am... 8 hours to go!

cjwally · 08-02-2007, 08:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mechmann

dude.. all you need to do is go for a lunch ride! allison and i will probably get about 14 miles at lunch today

I know that trick....Too bad the boss is here

allison · 08-02-2007, 08:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cjwally

I know that trick....Too bad the boss is here

Ride itself only takes about 40 mins. Gives you 10 mins to dress for cycling, and 10 to dress back for work! Eat at your desk.

We can't be the only people that take hour lunches.

SAR_boats · 08-02-2007, 08:28 AM

We all already know you have issues, you sandbagging iphone loving type of guy.

(j/k)

Sorry you crashed, bro. I hope you heal quick and make sure to inspect every inch of the carbon fiber before riding on it again. CF has a funny way of not taking crashes well, esp handlebars. I would hate to see you wreck again because there are stress fractures in the bar.

CeeDubb · 08-02-2007, 09:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SAR_boats

We all already know you have issues, you sandbagging iphone loving type of guy.

(j/k)

Sorry you crashed, bro. I hope you heal quick and make sure to inspect every inch of the carbon fiber before riding on it again. CF has a funny way of not taking crashes well, esp handlebars. I would hate to see you wreck again because there are stress fractures in the bar.

Good point!! I'm unwrapping my bars tonight for a good inspection.

OMR · 08-02-2007, 08:40 PM

Nice description of the ride and crash... I could almost feel that curb. I've gotten so darn conservative in my road riding... just too many friends hit by cars here in SoOC ... too many soccer moms driving SUV tanks while talking on the cell phone...

"I'll have to call you back Doris, some biker just ran under my wheels and I'm late picking up the kids!"

OMR

07-31-2007, 05:15 PM	#1 (permalink)
CeeDubb 9.8m/sec² - It's the law	RR: Lytle Creek (7/31/2007) Long read... Normally a ride report would start at the trailhead, but this one is going to start late last night. Maybe I should say early this morning thanks to PacMan. In response to my Who logs their rides? post, he talks about the Sport Tracks software he uses to track his stuff. This is at 11pm on Monday. Well...fast forward to 12:30am and I'm still up playing with the software. I need to be up at 6am or my whole morning routine was gonna be outta whack. Anyway, I manage to pull myself away from the forum and the software. Both are very addictive. Luckily, no one was meeting me for the morning ride because I woke up an hour later than I wanted. I brushed my teeth, fed the pets, and whipped up a bowl of Coach's Oats, then geared up for my ride. I think for this ride I'll be sporting the Pearl Izumi shorts and Gerolsteiner jersey. Debated on wearing my Specialized cycling shoes for a change (only used them twice), but decided to stay with my trusty and comfy Adidas. Did I have everything else? Helmet...check! Gloves...check! Charged GPS...check! Glasses...check! Charged iPod Shuffle...check! Tire levers, patches, & CO2...check! Water...check! I had what I needed. I opened the garage door and was relieved to feel a gust of cool air and I saw that it was a bit overcast. "Absolutely perfect!" I thought because I was rolling out a little later than usual. A quick fill of the tires to 125 psi and I was about to hit the road. The first pedal stroke let me know that my right knee was still a bit sore, so I stopped and ran back into the house to take 400mg of ibuprofin. I hope I don't get busted for doping... Back onto the bike for an easy spin on my route to warm up the legs. The cool air and cloudy skies were a welcome change to the merciless sun that usually beats down on me. There's really not very many spots to just coast on the way up to Lytle Creek. It's a slow steady climb to the top. It doesn't matter if it's the road or the trail. Getting your climbing done first means that you get to enjoy your downhill. That's the way it should be. No offense to the DHers, but there's a great sense of satisfaction of knowing you put in the work to earn your downhill run. 5 miles in...I think the ibuprofin is working its magic because the pain in my knee is nearly gone. The muscles are warm and I'm spinning at a consistent 85 to 90 rpm. 6.75 miles pedaled and 30 minutes in and I'm passing under the 15 fwy. 11.5 miles pedaled and 53 minutes in and I'm passing by the first rest area on the right. 4 more miles of climbing to go before I hit my regular turn around point. Climbing is really not that exciting. I just worked on my form. Smooth seated spinning at high rpms transitioned to a few upshifts so I could stand for some out of the saddle efforts. I tried to emulate all the climbers that I've seen that seem to just dance on the pedals as they ascended up grades that were far steeper that the ones I was tackling this morning. I eventually hit my turnaround point and saw the long stretch of road that continued up the mountain. It seemed to mock me as if to say that I didn't have it in me to venture further. Damnit! Don't mock me! I took the bait and pedaled on. Let's just see where this road goes. Turns out that the road continued another 2.5 miles with another 800+ ft of ascent. I could go no further unless I wanted to see how my road whip would fair in the dirt. I see a sign that reads "Pavement Ends" and I'm disappointed by the graffitti that's spray painted on it. There's that sense of accomplishment you get when you conquer something. Big or small, it doesn't matter because it's one more thing you can add to your life's book of "Stuff I Did." Is this little ride superhuman? Not in the least. There are so many out there that can do this route and probably do it faster, but it's much different to say I CAN DO IT versus I DID IT. Well the downhill was definitely earned and a wonderful 35-40 mph descent came immediately after the climb. The corners were taken clean and fast...just put your weight on your outside pedal and look through the turn. The straights were taken with my hands in the drops, and my 53-12 gears. No coasting...I still pedaled. While it took an hour and 10 minutes to climb to the top of Lytle Creek from the 15 fwy, the descent back down to the 15 fwy took only 25 minutes. A quick left turn on to Riverside Avenue and I was in the home stretch to my house. Riverside Avenue is a simple almost straight road that goes from the 15 fwy all the way past the 10 fwy. I've biked it many times. I like it because if you're going south, and you catch the lights just right you can maintain a 30 mph plus pace for 5+ miles. Sometimes you can catch the draft of a big truck and there was one occasion where I maintain 41 mph for a little under a mile. There are a few spots where there are bumps and potholes that you'd seriously need to either go around or bunnyhop. Riding the road so many times, I know where those spots are and I avoid them. Well, today I was only going 25-30 mph down Riverside. At about mile 29 or 30 I was in a little bit of a zone and not paying attention when all of a sudden my front wheel hits something and I'm in the air. My brain quickly processes my location and I know the exact HUGE bump I hit. My bike lands at about a 45 degree angle pointing towards the curb and I'm out of control. My attempt to save it was futile and I could sense that I was falling to the right. Everything was going in slow-motion and I can remember saying, "F**!" as I unclipped and jumped off my bike to the grass on the right. The inside of my left knee hit the curb as I'm trying to roll into a ball. I hit the grass and slid on my right shoulder for a few yards. I immediately jumped up and looked around to see if anyone witnessed my little mishap. Not a car on the road and not a person in sight. I consider myself very fortunate because worse case scenario could have been that I fell to the left and there was traffic next to me. Even if there wasn't traffic, I could have had a worse case of road rash and maybe broken something from falling onto the hard asphalt. I did a quick once over on the road whip and aside from a few minor scratches and some messed up bar tape, it was fine. I hopped back on and continued the 8 miles back to my house. All body parts were working fine and all bike parts were functioning properly. The ride ended with 38.08 miles logged and 3445 feet of vertical ascent in 2 hours 30 minutes 36 seconds. Click on the map for the Ride Replay: I urge everyone to not get too complacent on ANY ride you do. Respect the road and respect the trail. My little mishap today could have been much worse and I'll use it as learning experience and a reminder that anything can happen at anytime. Do your best to understand what YOU have control over. Here are some of the aftermath pictures: My iPhone case rules! Since I crashed on asphalt going down a straight road, does it mean I have issues? __________________ Last edited by CeeDubb; 07-31-2007 at 09:23 PM. Reason: I didn't give credit where credit was due*

07-31-2007, 05:45 PM	#2 (permalink)
Pain Freak Charlie bit me	Yes, you have issues, but don't we all? Man, you are one lucky Mofo. Almost everytime I've crashed while on a road bike has resulted in some serious ouchies, and time off the bikes. I'm not sure where you started your time, but I start from my house and it takes me 1:10 to get to the village. I usually continue on till the road ends too, unless it's getting late. __________________ If quizzes are quizzical, what are tests? “Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body—but rather a skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming, ‘Wow, what a ride!’ ” —anon.

07-31-2007, 06:07 PM	#4 (permalink)
Pain Freak Charlie bit me	Cool we climb about the same. Maybe we can hook up after work sometime. __________________ If quizzes are quizzical, what are tests? “Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body—but rather a skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming, ‘Wow, what a ride!’ ” —anon.

07-31-2007, 09:42 PM	#8 (permalink)
PacMan Future Homer??	Oh yeah--glad you're OK dude. That crash could've turned out *really* bad. I had a buddy of mine go down last year doing about 35mph on his road bike and he was out of the game for awhile. __________________ Less typing...more riding.

08-01-2007, 04:57 PM	#9 (permalink)
Wrecker THE Penultimate Mtb'er	Happy to hear that you and the bike are okay __________________ "There are too many factors you have to take into account that you have no control over...The most important factor you can keep in your own hands is yourself. I always placed the greatest emphasis on that." Eddy Merckx

08-02-2007, 07:59 AM	#11 (permalink)
cjwally	Cool write up. Makes me want to leave work and go out for a spin.... Too bad it is only 9:00am... 8 hours to go!

08-02-2007, 08:28 AM	#14 (permalink)
SAR_boats Car Magnet	We all already know you have issues, you sandbagging iphone loving type of guy. (j/k) Sorry you crashed, bro. I hope you heal quick and make sure to inspect every inch of the carbon fiber before riding on it again. CF has a funny way of not taking crashes well, esp handlebars. I would hate to see you wreck again because there are stress fractures in the bar. __________________

08-02-2007, 08:40 PM	#16 (permalink)
OMR	Nice description of the ride and crash... I could almost feel that curb. I've gotten so darn conservative in my road riding... just too many friends hit by cars here in SoOC ... too many soccer moms driving SUV tanks while talking on the cell phone... "I'll have to call you back Doris, some biker just ran under my wheels and I'm late picking up the kids!" OMR __________________ OMR .... An elder grasshopper of the Tribe The journey is the thing .... ride like it's your last one...

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