California Wine Country Bike Trip

I am a little late in updating my blog, but I have been busy. Patti and I joined friends, Deb & Keith for an 8 day trip to California in mid September.

We signed up with Bicycle Adventures, www.bicycleadventures.com for a 6-day cycling trip through the wine country of northern California. We visited Napa Valley, Sonoma Valley, Anderson Valley and Dry Creek Valley regions.

We were sag supported and our luggage was carried by vans to our next destination each day. Our cycling mileage was in the 35-50 mile range each day. The terrain was rolling hills with a couple of steeper climbs later in the trip. We usually would stop at 4 or 5 wineries each day and do a tasting.

This was new country for the four of us and we thoroughly enjoyed it. We were joined by 11 other couples and 3 guides. Our tour started in Santa Rosa and we made a big loop through Napa, Sonoma, Healdsburg, Calistoga and some other towns in that area. We also biked on the last day through a redwood forest and were able to see for our first time the majestic trees.

After our tour was completed we headed down to San Francisco and spent 2 days touring Fisherman's Wharf, Chinatown, Golden Gate Bridge, Lombard Street and other sites in the area.

This was a great vacation and we would like to do another biking tour similar to this to a different region, perhaps the Tuscan region of Italy.

California Here We Come

Patti and I have been getting ready for our trip to California. Our packing is almost done. We shipped out our tandem by Fed-Ex on Monday. It should arrive at The Hotel La Rosa in Santa Rosa sometime Friday. Our flight leaves Moline at 8:30 on Saturday and arrives in Oakland around 1:30. Then we have a 2 hour shuttle ride to Santa Rosa.

We had a good training ride on our tandem this past week-end from Moline to Savanna and back. This two day ride was our second annual Muscatine Cycling Club ride. in total we logged about 107 miles. Our overnight at the Granny O'Neal's B & B turned out to be an interesting experience and we will have to stay there again next year.

I am kneeling beside Evan and Patti is to the left of Evan

We have been out 3 times on our mountain bikes since we shipped out our tandem. Monday night we took Evan on our club's ride and put in about 13 miles. Evan was on a trailer bike behind my bike. Then last night I went running with Mark Lofgren at Wildcat Den State Park and ran about 3.5 miles, while Patti bike 9 or 10 miles. Then this evening we road our bikes up to Stockton and back for another 11 miles. We are hoping to get out on the bikes one more time on Friday before we leave on our trip.

The biking portion of our California trip is 6 days and tours through the California Napa and Sonoma Valleys. Then we do some sight seeing in San Francisco for a couple of days. We are going with our good friends Deb & Keith Elliott, who are celebrating their 30'th wedding anniversary.

Wildcat Den 5k Trail Run

This past Saturday I ran the 5k trail run down at Wildcat Den State Park. This was my second year for doing this race. The park is about 3 miles from our house and I often go down to run or walk the trails.

My very first 5k race was ran here last year with a time of 24:55, which was 21st overall and good enough for 1st place in the 50-59 age group. This year I improved on my time and clocked in at 24:22, which was 17th overall, but only good enough for 3rd place. Two faster runners that didn't participate last year, decided to run this year.

This was my 8th race this year and by far the hardest. The uneven terrain and the steep hills back in the park, make for a very challenging run. Out of the 8 races I have 2-1st's, 2-2nd's, 2-3rd's, 1-4th and 1-5th.

Training For Trail Run This Week-end

This Saturday I will be doing the Wildcat Den 5k trail run at the park 2 1/2 miles from my house. This morning and yesterday morning I went down and ran on the trails in the park to get accustomed to the terrain and the inclines. The hill climbing training-both going up and down has given me a good workout.

This will be my 2nd year to do this run. Last year's run was my very first 5k of my racing career. My time last year was 24:55. Compare this time to my last race 3 weeks ago, the Hon 5k, of 21:01, which was my fastest time this year. Trail runs tend to be a good bit slower than runs on pavement, due to the slight amount of sinking your foot does in the ground and less rebound from your foot-step hitting dirt vs. pavement. I would like to get my time down to 24:00 this year. We'll see if I have made this much improvement in 12 months.

HNI(Hon) 5K Run

This past Saturday I ran in the HNI 5k run from the waterfront in downtown Muscatine. This is a very flat course and everyone's times were fast.

There were 164 entries, some of which were walkers. I ended up finishing 22nd overall and took 2nd in my age bracket. My time was 21:01, which was a PB or PR(personal best/personal record) for this distance. I averaged 6:46 per mile. My next best time was the Hayes Hustle back in April, where my time was 21:59.

I have 3 weeks before my next race, which will be the Wildcat Den trail run.

Du State Du Duathlon-Loud Thunder Park

Yesterday I competed in my second duathlon this year and this was my second year to do the Du State Du. The weather was ominous with the weather channel predicting a 70% chance of thunderstorms all day. Even with the bad weather forecast we had 131 participants.

This race comprises a 2 mile run, a 15 mile bike ride and then the 2 mile run again. The transition area is used for the changeover. During the first transition your running shoes are taken off and biking shoes put on as well as your helmet. Then you take the bike off the rack that is provided and run out to the transition starting place and get on your bike. This is reversed during the second transition. Last year my times were 0:59 and 0:49 respectively for the two transitions. This year I shaved a little off and had 0:36 and 0:40, which gave a 0:32 second improvement overall.

I also improved in my running all so slightly. Last year my times were 13:47 and 14:40 for the two running legs. This year I had 13:25 and 14:59. Adding these together my running improved by :03 seconds.

Then there was the biking leg, which I didn't really want to talk about. Last year my time was 44:21 (average 19.9 mph). This year I did a disappointing 46:13 (19.1 mph). For me the wind this year was a big factor. It was blowing out of the south at 11-13 mph. I also had a bad leg cramp (right calf) during my last hill ascent about 2 miles from the finish line. I had to slow up to work the cramp out and this cost me some precious time.

Overall my time last year was 1:14:31. This year it was 1:15:55, which was 84 seconds slower. It was still good enough to get me 2nd place (same as last year). Even if I had rode as well as last year I still couldn't have caught the first place finisher (from Sterling, IL) in my age group. He was nearly 6 minutes ahead of me and finished 10th overall. I ended up finishing 32nd overall. Another factor in my slower times was not being fully recovered from my 5k race that I did the day before.

Well the rain held off for most of the finishers and began in earnest as we were gathering for the award ceremony and lunch.

Watermelon Stampede 5k

Race announcer Del Web-calling out times of finishers.

I ran my first Watermelon Stampede 5k in Muscatine on Saturday morning. This picture shows the final 100 yards making our way down to the YMCA.They also had a 10k race for those looking for a longer run. The humidity was 65-70% and the temp was in the high 60's, which made for a sticky-warm run. They had a little over 300 participants. I finished 1st in my age group, but wasn't pleased with my time. I ran the race in 22:17, which is 18 seconds above my best time on the Hayes Hustle back in April. My body doesn't perform as well in the warmer temperatures. My split times were 7:10 and 14:20 at mile 1 and 2 and I ended up with a 7:10 minute average for the 3.107 mile race. There were 9 entries in my age bracket. Recording times for participants finishing race.

I would be running/biking the Du State Du the next day and after the exertion on Saturday, would see how that effected my race times on Sunday.

Training For 5K's

After returning from RAGBRAI, I have been doing less and less bike riding and more and more running. I have three races coming up in about two weeks.

I installed the aero-bars on my bike and have been doing short-very intense rides in the low-aero-dynamic position. Most of these rides are 10 miles or less. Then on the same day I have been doing a 3 mile run at a 8-minute per mile pace. I am going to try and keep this training up for the 7 to 10 days before I start to slow down and taper for the races.

RAGBRAI XXXVII Tribute

It is time once again for the Des Moines "Register's Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa". This marks the 37th year and my 6th. This year's bike ride takes a southern route and begins in Council Bluffs and ends in Burlington. This will be my first go at a southern route. I hear they are usually very hilly (especially southwest Iowa).

The other overnight towns are: Red Oak, Greenfield, Indianola, Chariton, Ottumwa and Mt. Pleasant. The total miles will be around 445 and the feet of climbing around 23,000. The amount of climbing puts it in the Top 10 for the history of RAGBRAI, while the last day also makes it in the top 10 for the least amount of climbing and easiest day.

In addition, RAGBRAI adds a number of first time towns to the family: Williamson, Macksburg, East Peru, Truro, Oakley, Honey Creek Resort, Hedrick, Martinsburg, Pekin, Pleasant Plain, Germanville, Geode State Park, and Indianola as our overnight host on Day 3!

I will be going with the Muscatine Cycling Club again this year. We have two large buses with about 50 locals and 50 out of towners going this year. We leave at 7am tomorrow and usually we stop for breakfast in West Des Moines at the Cracker Barrel, which should put us in Council Bluffs around 2pm. Sunday morning the ride begins.

And this year, if all goes as planned my wife, Patti will be joining me for the last day with our tandem. How she gets down to Mt. Pleasant is still being worked out, but my sister lives in Burlington and my mother is also coming up from Missouri to be there for the last day as the peleton makes it's way through the streets of Burlington.

I am fresh back from my Colorado ride and should be in good shape for this year's RAGBRAI. Also joining me from my Colorado ride are: Jim Bixler, Dave Humiston and Steve Geering. Jim and Dave will be accompanying the Muscatine club, while Steve will be with the Quad Cities club. And Dave Benson, Steve's friend in Colorado where we stayed the last night is also coming on RAGBRAI. He will be with a group out of Oskaloosa called BrewHaHa. Dave said to look for their big green bus.

The weather is looking great for this year's ride with temps in the 70's and 80's during the day and 50's and 60's at night. There isn't much rain chances at this time, but as we know this can change. Here it is at 3pm on Friday before RAGBRAI starts and it is only 66 degrees. I think Iowa had a long winter, extended spring, 3 weeks of summer and now we are into fall already. I guess we shouldn't complain-I would much rather ride in mild weather like this than the heat we have experienced on previous RAGBRAI's. Council Bluff's here we come-----and Burlington--you are not far behind.

Day 1 is from Council Bluffs to Red Oak. The route takes us through Mineola, Henderson, and Emerson. The day starts with about 10 miles of flat running along the Loess Hills. After this warm up, the route turns east and starts hopping hills to Red Oak. All total, the day clocks in around 54 miles and a little over 3700 feet of climb.

Day 2 is from Red Oak to Greenfield. The route takes us through Stanton, Villisca, Nodaway, Dickeville, Corning, Prescott, Williamson, and Fontanelle. This day will get your attention as I'm showing almost 73 miles of riding and over 5000 feet of climb. Fortunately, there are plenty of through towns during the day and they're spaced about every 10 miles.

Day 3 is from Greenfield to Indianola. This will be our first time overnighting in Indianola! The route takes us through Orient, Macksburg, East Peru, Truro, St. Charles, St. Marys, Martensdale, and Prole. This day will also get your attention as I'm showing almost 78 miles of riding and over 4400 feet of climb. Like Day 2, the through towns are nicely spaced.

Day 4 is a a short ride to Chariton passing through Ackworth, Sandyville, Milo, Lacona, and Oakley. It will be only 45 miles of riding and ~2100 feet of climb.

Day 5 is from Chariton to Ottumwa and we return to some long miles. The route takes us through Millerton, Bethlehem, Confidence, Iconium, Honey Creek Resort, moravia, Unionville, and Blakesburg. We'll do about 77 miles and almost 3400 feet of climb.

Day 6 is from Ottumwa to Mt. Pleasant. The route takes us through Hedrick, Martinsburg, Pekin, Packwood, Pleasant Plain, Brighton, Germanville, and Lockridge. This will be the longest day at almost 78 miles and the climb is relaxed a bit to a little over 3000 feet.

Day 7 is from Mt. Pleasant to Burlington and takes us through New London, Lowell and Geode State Park. As I mentioned in above - easy day at 44 miles and 1175 feet of climb.

West Liberty Fun Run

Yesterday I got up early before Church and drove to the Muscatine County fairgrounds in West Liberty. I entered in the 5k run along with about 150 other runners. The temps were ideal at 8am and the course was pretty flat and went on streets through the town.

I set a fairly brisk pace on the 1st mile (sub-7 minutes) and heard that my 2-mile time was 14:05, but on my last mile I had to slow down a bit. I finished with 22:04, which was good enough to give me 3rd place in my age group (31st overall).

My time was about 5 seconds slower than my performance in the Hayes Hustle back in April and the race in April had a big incline at the finish. Guess I hadn't completely recovered from my difficult bike ride in Colorado last week.

Go West Young Man

Isn't that quote credited to Horace Greely?

In the morning I along with 4 other bikers from the Muscatine area will be heading for Colorado to bicycle through the mountains. The biking portion will be 5 1/2 days and will be centered around Frisco for the largest share of our riding and at Estes Park for the last day of riding. Three other riders from Colorado are going to join us for part of our ride.

My writing will switch from this blog to my web-site I use for my bike trips: www.iowacyclist.crazyguyonabike.com

The weather is going to be 30-40 degrees cooler where we are heading and we may run into some hail and snow flurries at the higher elevations this time of year.

I am looking forward to this trip, but wish I didn't have all the driving out and back (28 hours).

St. Malachy Steeplechase 4.65 Mile Run

After being in Vancouver all week on a business trip, I decided to run a race this morning. The race is sponsored by the St. Malachy Church. They have a country church located about 8 miles west of Muscatine. The run was essentially all on gravel with a short section on blacktop. One stretch of gravel was very difficult to navigate due to the large pieces 2"+ in the road bed.

I have never ran a race of this length and for that matter never ran any training runs of this length. Most of my runs are 1 to 2 miles long. I paced myself during the race and kept about the same speed for the full length of the race.

I ended up finishing 4th in my age group (50-59). They didn't have a separate age group for 55-59 or I would have taken 1st. Last year my time of 37:34 would have been good enough to finish 1st, but this year there were some faster runners that didn't participate last year. My legs feel pretty good this evening, but we will see how I feel tomorrow.

Only 8 days until the Colorado bike ride and I have been off my bike for about 2 weeks with an infected cyst on by bottom last week and this week I was away on business. Will spend the next few days back on the bike to get ready for my long ride in the mountains.