Why Il Giro Is, And Always Will Be, Better Than Le Tour

After this years hotly contested Giro d'Italia, riders at tis years Tour de France will be hard pressed to give a more exciting, breathtaking, and down to the wire competition than the one that was on display through out Italy this year. The fight for this year's Maglia Rosa was one of Epic proportions, one that will be talked about throughout Europe for years to come as the main protagonists where laid to rest in a late and hard fought battle sieged by the Spanish prodigy and late entry Alberto Contador. While most Americans were completely unaware, the roads through out Italy were set ablaze, and the Italian favorites were badly burned...

And this is why the Giro is so much more exciting than the Tour. The Italians are fiercely proud of Il Giro, as well all of their cycling traditions for that matter. No other race in the world is as hotly contested by all of it's native riders as Il Giro.

Here are the reasons why the Giro is hands down better than the Tour, this year, years past, and all the years to come.

1. National Pride: No one, except maybe the Belgians, take cycling as seriously and personally as the Italians. Cycling is a matter of national identity. There is one Grand Tour in Italy, a number of 1 week tours, and spring and fall classics that take place through out the boot of Europe. With the exception of this year's Giro, the race has been won by an Italian every year since 1996, and Italians have won 65 out of the 81 years the race has been run since 1909. The Italians are undeniable in their domination of the Giro, and for good reason. The Tifosi, or Italian fans, have cycling in their blood. They live for bicycle racing, and the cyclists in Italy give their best for the Italian people. The Tour de France is very different. A Frenchman hasn't won the Tour since the Badger, Bernard Hinault. Hinault was a true champion in the European tradition, racing all year and winning everything he could. If a Frenchman doesn't win in 2008 it will be 23 years since one has worn Le Maillot Jaune in Paris. But the French riders don't really seem to care. Instead of fighting for the overall they bicker with each other. Instead of showing a united national front they ride for themselves trying to be the best Frenchman, instead of racing to stand atop the podium in Paris. Because of this, the tour has been won by every other nation in Europe, and much to the disdain of the French, by Americans... more than ten times. Although the tour gets the most international coverage, it simply lacks the national enthusiasm that the Giro has in spades.

2. Race Schedule: Il Giro happens earlier in the year than Le Tour, spanning most of the month of May, which is generally pleasant but cold and snowy in the mountains. This years Giro was punishing as it took riders through the high mountains late in the race. Andy Hampsten, the lone American to have won Il Giro in 1988, was the main animator over the Il Passo di Gavia during an all out white out snow storm. In pictures of Il Passo di Stelvio there is regularly 8+ feet of snow lining the mountain roads. Although the Tour is sometimes plagued with heat on Mont Ventoux, the weather is rarely as dastardly as Il Giro.

3. International Coverage: Or lack there of. The Giro remains behind the shroud of the Atlantic for Americans, with the exception of those willing to pay for Cycling.tv's shit coverage, or those committed enough to wake up at 3 a.m. to watch streaming live coverage from Italian TV. Because of this much of Il Giro and it's traditions remain shrouded in secrecy. While many American cyclists don the Maillot Jaune, the emblematic symbol of leadership in Le Tour, rarely do you see any American's in the Maglia Rosa, despite it being a considerably more elegant garment. Now often people call me curmudgeon-y, and maybe that's why I love Il Giro so much... because so many others miss out on it completely.

4. Terrain: Le Tour is tough. I'm not going to say it isn't. Le Alpe de Huez and Mount Ventoux are emblematic climbs that have defined Le Tour for years and years. Mount Ventoux even has the dubious distinction of having killed a man... or maybe it was the drugs, either way, Tom Simpson, World Champion and Hero of British Cycling died on Ventoux. Regardless of all this, the Italian Dolomites are unrelenting. Climbs like Il Passo Gavia y Stelvio are climbs that not only strike fear in cyclists because of their impending gradiants and level of difficulty but also because of the cold that chills to the bone at the summit. Routes are regularly raced on dirt roads, and many climbs pitch up to as much as 25%.

5. 2008: This year will be a lynch pin for the sport, whether change is good or bad. In a poorly thought out attempt to re-estabish Le Tour as the grandest of the grand tours, ASO has decided to strike out from the UCI and deny the worlds greatest stage race team, as well as the home of last years Tour winner, Astana. I personally am contemplating not watching Le Tour at all, as the winner of this years Tour will only be a paper champion, having not beaten last years winner. Unlike what will become of this years Tour, this years Giro was a battle. It pitted last years Giro Champ against last years Tour champion. The gap from 1st to 2nd going into the final stage was 4 seconds. A gap like that hasn't been seen since Greg Lemond beat Laurent Fignon in 1989. Contador came off of Vacation to race Il Giro, and still handed the competition it's proverbial ass. It was an absolutely incredible race marked with incredible attacks, and nail bitingly close gaps between the leaders. I can't imagine the Tour coming close at all to the excitement level of this years Giro.

For the past 4 years I've watched both Il Giro d'Italia and Le Tour de France, and since 2005, when Il Falco won the Giro with style and Panache while Lance utilized science and the best team in the pro peloton to win the tour I've thought the Giro has been the better race. Italians ride Il Giro with Style and Grace, they stamp their authority on it, and when an outsider like Contador wins, they demand a win with typical Italian flair. Maybe the Tour, the ASO, and French Cycling could take something away from that. Read more!

Oh... My....God

In Mexico this weekend there was a 34 kilometer bike race close to the US/Mexican border. About 15 minutes into the race a drunk driver who fell asleep behind the wheel plowed into the race, killing one and injuring 10 others. Juan Campos was charged with killing Alejandro Alvarez, 37, of Monterrey. Astonishingly a city official caught the crash on film, as you can see...



The first thing I thought about was the Roger Milliken race this year. Matt Gunnell made the call at that race to have a guy taken off the road who was trying to drive onto the course. Turns out the guy was shitbombed and the result was him being hauled in for his 4TH!!! DUI. Looking at that photo freaks me out since that could have been the result at the Milliken race had it not been for Matt's quick thinking.

I thought racing was supposed to be safe! Closed courses with no cars, right???? WTF!!! Read more!

Ojai Century 2008 Ride Report

Saturday was number 7 out of 15 of this years 15 rides. Number 7 was the Ojai century, starting and ending in no other place than, Ojai California. I wish I had a little more time this weekend, as I would have loved to make a weekend trip out of this century ride. Ojai is a beautiful little city. It's located about 15 miles up highway 33 from Ventura. The main town square, which seems to surround Libby park, is absolutely beautiful. It's lined with little shops, cozy hotels and beautiful tree lined streets. The area that surrounds that are beautiful residential areas. There are no large corporations, no strip malls with GAP or Abercrombie & Fitch, no starbucks or other big city crap...



This little city couldn't have been a more perfect host city to one of the best Centuries I've ridden this year. I teamed up with Ed from PAA for this ride, which was cool, as I rarely get to ride with people from my own club. The Ojai century takes you through some beautiful parts of the Central Valley. The first 20 miles rolls through Lake Casitas and Casitas pass. It's a beautiful stretch of road with large winding bends that gradually climb up over the pass. The road then goes down, giving you a nice easily winding descent where speeds of 40 mph are easily obtainable. After the first rest stop we made our way through the Montecito hills, which is similar to the Coolbreeze route with the addition of Torito Canyon. It also took us through Summerland and down into Ventura. We skipped the rest stop at 40 miles, and went straight through to the 60 mile lunch stop on Main st. in Ventura.



The next 20 miles was relatively flat roads with a significant tailwind through Suburban streets and farm roads. This is the only section of the ride that I didn't like, because of all the stopping and turning through the suburbs. But all in all this was 10 miles out of 100 that I didn't like. The last of the Rest stops was in Santa Paula, It was at a cool old train station. The last section of the ride was awesome as it was up and up and then down to the finish. The climb wasn't difficult at all, mostly between 4 and 8% grades with a couple little steep sections. When the summit was reached there was a long section of flat, a little step up and then a nice long winding descent. This led to a section of false flats the took us down to the finish.

You couldn't have really asked for a better day for the ride. The temperature never broke 80 degrees. There was only a light wind, that turned into an awesome tail wind that pushed us up to Santa Paula. The organization of this Century was also top notch. The route was well marked, with road labels that would repeat at close proximity when awkward or hard to see turns where approaching. The rest stops were in nice places with clean bathrooms and more than enough help at each one. Now, this ride didn't have the Jr. High Band playing Styx covers at the rest stop, but this ride did only have 700 or so people. Considering the size of this ride it was the best organized ride I've ridden so far. Libby Park is a beautiful start/Finish, and the town of Ojai seemed very accommodating.




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Bicycle Commuter Tax Incentive back in Lesgislation this week.

This is a repost from the League of American Bicyclists. You can click here to take action.

Bicycle Commuter Benefit on House Tax Extender Bill...

On May 21, 2008, prior to the Memorial Day recess, the House passed H.R. 6049, the Renewable Energy and Job Creation Act of 2008. Included in the legislation is a $20 per month transportation fringe benefit for bicycle commuters to cover costs of commuting by bike. (See text of legislation here). Section 127.

We are expecting the Senate finance committee to take up the measure the week of June 2nd, and would like to have the Senators who previously co-sponsored S. 858 (Bicycle Commuters Benefit Act 2007), sign onto a joint letter, being distributed by Senator Wyden, to the Chair and Ranking Member of the Finance Committee asking them to adopt the House provision. Please take a moment to click on the action button to contact your Senator and urge them to sign onto the joint letter. Thank you.

I filled out the document and even added a paragraph of my own and it only took me about 5 minutes. My recommendation to everyone is to put the game of free cell on hold like I did and fill it out. It will help us all.

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New Ghost Riders Gallery

In honor of the Ghost Riders movement that is steadily gaining ground throughout these fine United States of America I have decided to create a Gallery for Fellow Ghost Riders.

I have added a few pictures from the Pasadena Ride of Silence to get the ball rolling, however I think it would be great if all the Jersey owners could start sending in some pics! I know at least a few of you have pictures, so send them...

Send them here:

coreykeizer@yahoo.com

you can view the gallery here:

Ghost Riders Gallery!
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Heartbreak 08 Ride Report

More often than not I'm a creature of comfort. I find myself getting into a good groove and I stick to it. Case in point: Training for The Mulholland Challenge. Instead of finding varying rides with the elevation I needed I simply did laps of a very familiar ride that's close to my home that I ride all the time. Every once and a while though I break out and try something new. Case in point: the first time I tried Mole, at a restaurant where I had to pay. Normally, if I have to pay I buy something I know I'm going to like, like a cheeseburger, or enchiladas. There was this one time though that I got all crazy and ordered a plate of Mole...

Anyway, my point is that usually I do rides in areas that I'm pretty familiar with. for the most part if you look at the list of rides that I have for 15 rides you'll see many that I've done before; Tour de Palm Springs, Solvang, Conejo, Coolbreeze. However, this year I branched out and did a few that I've never done before, and for that I'm kind of proud.

The Heartbreak Hundred ride was one of those that I've never done before, and I did an unusually light amount of research on the ride. It wasn't until a few days before that I realized the ride starts at 3500 ft. above sea level and rises to about 6100 ft. This plus the steadily declining weather would end up playing significant factors in my performance.

For those who aren't familiar with the Heartbreak Hundred, it's the final century of Planet Ultras' King of the Mountains Challenge. It takes place in Frazier Park and the surrounding areas and takes you up to 6100 ft. above sea level, then down to 2500 ft. then back up to around 5500 ft. then back down the the starting elevation of 3500 ft. My Garmin counted 8844 total ft. Heartbreak starts right off with climbing, there's no warming up on the flats, no coasting to the first climb, nothing. Straight out of the parking lot you're going up. You climb through Frazier Park, through Pine Mtn. Club and through Ft. Tejon State Historical Park, which I have to say is incredibly beautiful. Then you descend for a while before steadily inching your way up to the final climb which leads to rollers and then a final descent. This is what I knew of the ride going into it.



The first section of climbing is nearly 30 miles. Through this there were some quick, steep descents marked by the emblematic yellow "Trucks use Low Gears" signs. These signs were a welcome warning as they meant a quick reprise from the unusually grueling 6% grade that, combined with the wind and the altitude was taking it's toll on my legs. There were points where the road pitched up to as much as 15% but for the most part the climb was steady. The summit of Mill Potrero was marked by a State Parks Fire Station and a State Parks sign that I didn't bother reading as a wicked descent was about to follow. This descent wasn't too steep, but carried on for a while, leading to a sections larger than normal rollers that took us through a windswept section that must have been a prominent ridge line. This area was absolutely beautiful as it gave way to incredible views. The terrain was incredible as well. There were wildflowers blooming everywhere and those combined with the windswept pines created a beautiful, surreal experience. After the rollers there was a long, long, long descent through rolling fields and farmland. There were moments the road pitched up, but these were few and far between. Most of the road through here pointed downward, and I was able to get some food down before we got to highway 166, which led to highway 33, which was torture.



Highway 33 was a climbers nightmare; long stretches of false flats with a blistering headwind. by this time we had picked up two extra riders and were setting an asphalt crushing pace of 14 mph through the farmlands. It SUCKED!!! It was fortunate that we were able to stick together through this section, going it alone would have been terrible. We lost those two new riders at the Aid Station and it was back to Mark, Alfred and I. We were passed by a pretty sizable group a few miles past the Aid Station and Mark Jumped in with that group. I didn't feel like hanging on and neither did Alfred so we let them go. Later on we came across one of those guys, (I think his name was Chris) who was waiting for his friend (Scott? or maybe I think it's Scott because he was riding a Scott). We teamed up with them until a few miles onto Lockwood Valley Rd, executing a nearly perfect double paceline. The four of us had caught a group of guys that Chris and Scott started with. We stuck with them for maybe a mile or two but they went ahead as Alfred and I suffered through the false flats leading up to the days final challenge. We did catch them as the road started to pitch up, but then let them go again as both of us were pretty beat.

The final real climb of the day was Heartbreak Hill, and it was something else. The wind had managed to switch directions each time we turned and every time we thought we'd have a tail wind it turned into a head wind. Heading up Heartbreak Hill was no different. I crawled up the climb, Alfred came up just a few seconds after me. There was a short, beautiful descent which lead to about 10 miles of rollers and false flats and then it was back to descending. We had caught another rider in the rollers and the three of us were working together on the descent as we caught another rider, who was a giant. This guy must have been 8 ft. tall. I didn't catch his name, but he rode a "2danger" bike or something. The last 4 miles was a sweet, fast, lightless descent that saw speeds of 30-35 miles an hour despite a wild, crossing headwind. We were being blown all over the place.

We managed to make it to the finish without incident and I checked in at 6 hours 48 minutes. I was shocked when I heard my time as I had miscalculated and thought I was closer to 8 hours. Actually looking back at the ride I realize that most of the names and other specifics that I learned in the last 40 miles might not be accurate as my mind was pretty clouded by the suffering that was The Heartbreak Hundred. Despite that suffering, it was an awesome ride, one that I would totally do again. The BBQ afterwards was a welcome relief.



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Ride of Silence 2008, Pasadena CA.

Tonight was the 2008 edition of the Ride of Silence, which is an event that goes on world wide. I attended the Pasadena chapter, which was at the Rose Bowl. The Pasadena ride is organized by Rick Babington, Well known cycling coach and member of PAA. For those of you not familiar with the ride of silence simply scroll down a couple of entries and read the entry about the Ride of Silence. The ride happened as it usually does, with a reading of the Ride of Silence poem, in English and Spanish, and then a reading of names of victims. There were just over 100 participants here for the ride, It seems that some must have joined right as we rolled out because the number of people in this picture doesn't seem to be as high as the number at the end. This is fine with me, the more the merrier...



Out of all the rides I do all year, this 3 lap, 9 mile, slow paced ride is the most impactful, and it's the only one that I remember each moment of each year I participate. I go on some pretty sweet rides, in some pretty sweet places, but I think that because of the emotional weight of this ride is what makes it stand out to me. This ride, to me at least, is us doing a little for those who have passed on, through no fault of their own, due to careless motorists. Tonight I heard of a friend's sister being hit in Arizona, by a drunk driver. The first thing I thought of was Paul L'Ecuyer.



At the end of the ride I tried to get around to everyone with the Jersey's and say thank you. Rick gave me a shout and I got to say a piece about the jersey which was totally unexpected and awesome. And there were about 10 of us with the Jersey out tonight, which was awesome. I realized tonight that the jersey isn't really a jersey any more, but a movement, with a solid awesome grassroots beginning. Things are going to be awesome, and I'm sure I have lots to say about it but I'm wicked tired right now so I'm going to bed. Read more!

Pick Up Your Effin' Trash: Reduex

Now that the sun is hangin' out longer with the intention of burning un-prepared shirtless tourists at the beach I decided it was time to do a full on Secret Slopes lap after work. With my training still being somewhat lackadaisical and the Heartbreak Hundred coming up I thought it might be a good idea to get a little climbing in. On my way up I was relaxed, listening to Alive 2007 and taking my time. I came upon the "Bend of Destiny" and couldn't help but notice that some schmeggy douchebag left his blown tube on the road...

Now I'm all for changing tubes when you get a flat but I'm not all for leaving my shit laying around like this rare beauty of a park that lies like an island amongst the ocean of filth and shit that is Los Angeles is my personal trash can. Especially when a bona fide, true to god, man made trash can that is emptied by park employees lays not a quarter mile up the road.

What really pissed me off is the fact that whomever dropped this tube was a relatively avid cyclist, or at least someone who spends money to look like they are, as this was a pretty high end tube with a 90mm valve stem on it.

Way to help ruin one of L.A's greatest assets... douche. Read more!

Ride of Silence

I'd like to remind everyone that the ride of silence is coming up May 21st, at 7:00 p.m at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA. This is an extremely important event that affects all cyclists, regardless of club lines, regardless of fitness or skill level, and regardless of type of bike...

The Ride of Silence will begin in North America and roll across the globe. Cyclists will take to the roads in a silent procession to honor cyclists who have been killed or injured while cycling on public roadways. Although cyclists have a legal right to share the road with motorists, the motoring public often isn't aware of these rights, and sometimes not aware of the cyclists themselves.

In 2003, Chris Phelan organized the first Ride Of Silence in Dallas after endurance cyclist Larry Schwartz was hit by the mirror of a passing bus and was killed.

The Ride Of Silence is a free ride that asks its cyclists to ride no faster than 12 mph and remain silent during the ride. There is no brochure, no sponsors, no registration fees and no t-shirt. The ride, which is held during Bike Safety month, aims to raise the awareness of motorists, police and city officials that cyclists have a legal right to the public roadways. The ride is also a chance to show respect for those who have been killed or injured.

For more information, click Ride of Silence

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F@%king laptop!!! Cruisin' the Conejo Ride Report

AAAARRRRGGGHGGHGHGHGHGH!....

I hate my laptop. I had all these sweet pictures saved from Cruisin the Conejo and when I loaded the XD card it formated the card. P.O.S! Now I don't even want to write. The ride was awesome, I got a sunburn. done. Read more!

Diane Feinstein Rules

I've always been under the assumption that our elected leaders have a wholesale policy of ignoring they're constituents and doing what the lobbies and corporations want them to do. Despite getting a degree with the intention of becoming a Speech Writer, I'd become increasingly disillusioned with the state of American Politics. A while back I wrote letters to California's Senators and my Representative about the bicycle tax break being left out of the Energy bill. I got typical boxed responses. I wrote a blog about it saying "Thanks" in a typically sarcastic tone...

But the other day something happened that changed my mind. I received a letter from Diane Feinstein regarding the letter I had written informing her of my disgust about the bike tax break being left out. The letter was even signed by hand. This leads me to believe that either Diane, or probably more likely one of her Aids read my letter. Needless to say I was pretty shocked.

California has always been a very progressive state, and I really think if we work together and make the push with our lawmakers we can begin make some changes, if even small ones on a national scale.

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Epic Rides!

Refer to my previous post to see that this is about Epic Rides, like the title wasn't enough to indicate...

I've put tons of miles in my legs, from the time I was a kid I was riding around. Cycling as always been important to me as it was the only way I could get out of eye shot of my parents for the first 10 years of my memorable life. I developed an early appreciation for two wheeled vehicles. I worked at a bike shop, which led me to watching Le Tour every summer and following coverage of the Giro and Vuelta. I watched La Course en Tete when I was 15. I know that's not saying much by California standards, but for a kid who grew up in Kansas with little to no recognizable cycling culture it was a big deal. Anyway, I was become a part of the cycling culture in Lawrence. Despite Kansas being thought of as flat (by California standards it is) there is some great riding. In fact in 1997 the Clinton Lake Trail and River Trail were rated #25 and #26 best MTB trails in the US by Bike Magazine.

My Epic Ride happened on 1997's 26th best MTB trail, the River Trail, when I was about 18 years old. I'd done lots of rides before then and lots and lots after, but this one ride has always stuck out as the best to me.

I went out on my new Cannondale F-600 after school. I was only going to go for a lap, which was out and back, approximately, and about 10 miles. I went out, and felt great. I came back to the trail head... almost. About a mile from the trail head there is a turn around, and you can loop and head back out. I usually went out for one lap, some did 2 or 3, but for me it was always one. On this day though, it was great. I was moving, fast, and I came to the turn around and headed back out. I set a hard pace, yet didn't feel tired, or put out or anything. I went out and back again, when I came to the turn around there were a couple guys from the KU cycling team. I turned around and headed out again, keeping pace with the guys from KU. We stomped along the trail again, and then back. The KU guys headed home and I made my way back in. At this point it was starting to get late. I headed out one more time, and back. Four times, Four laps in one day was by far a record for me, and it felt great.

What was exceptional about that ride was that through the whole ride I felt sharp and on point. I caught every detail of the trail, negotiated each obstacle and took each banking turn like I had ridden the trail 100 times before. Nothing was hard, or difficult or challenging. each turn and bend in the trail was like it was a girlfriend, asking to be caressed with black knobby, rolling rubber. I'm not sure what happened different on that day. I don't know if I was on peak, or beat the wall, or hit my Chi, but whatever it was it was awesome. By the time I got back to the trail head it was late. the sun was going down and it was getting late. I had to head home and get some dinner.

Thats it. That's my epic ride. I hope you all can share too! Read more!

It's May! Ride Your Damn Bike!! Then tell me about it!!!

When I started writing this blog I thought to myself that I should do something significant in the month of May since there is a "Ride your Bike to Work Week" embedded somewhere in there. This fact gives me license to call May "Bike Month" whether it is or not. So, since this blog is about cyclists rights, and so much of it is focussed on cyclist/motorist interaction I thought it would be great to have my readers write in with stories about the problems riders have had with cars and the moron's that drive them. Then I thought "Man, that's going to be a buzz kill, 30 day's of stories about cyclists being molested by bad drivers".

Then today I though to myself as I was thinking about a ride that I did when I was a kid "I should have my readers write about their all time most memorable ride". I decided that this was a much better idea. So if you're a reader reading this blog, and you can think of a great ride, the greatest ride ever in your entire life, you should write me and tell me about it. I'll write an entry in a bit, but you all should write some too. If you have pictures from that greatest ride ever you should send it to me also.

So that's it. Ride your Damn Bike! Ride it every day this month. Do it! Do it now!!!

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What to do?

Ask anyone who rides a bike on the road in any amount and they'll most likely tell you that there is a problem with the way drivers treat cyclists on the road. Most cyclists would agree that drivers are primarily the problem. Most drivers who aren't also cyclists would agree that cyclists are the problem. That statement, made by me, no matter how speculative is where the problem lies. Drivers, unfortunately view cyclists and cycling as a problem...

So what exactly is the problem? A while back in an Arizona newspaper that will remain nameless, a commentary was published by a reader who lambasted cyclists for being "slower" than traffic, and thus deserving whatever "end" they met when "going up against" traffic. Now, this guy's opinion is obviously outside of the norm (or is it?) and most motorists don't believe that cyclists deserve a tragic ending for venturing out onto public roads.

Although most drivers don't think that cyclists should die, there are a number of beliefs that most motorists hold that are not only incorrect but dangerously wrong. Here are some basics.

1. Cyclists don't belong on the road, thus take their lives in their own hands each time they go out on public roads.

2. Cyclists give up basic human rights on public roads

3. Since there are bike lanes in some places, that's only where cyclists belong

4. Cyclists are pedestrians and not vehicles.

We obviously know these are completely wrong, and I think if most motorists stopped and thought about things for a few seconds they would feel the same way. Pedestrians are called that because they walk. Cyclists are called that because they cycle, or ride a cycle, often a bicycle, which is a type of vehicle.

So what can be done? What should be done about motorists who just don't seem to get it? Someone told me once that you can't change anyone but yourself, and this is true. I think the first step is to ride politely when we go out on the road as cyclists. Kill 'em with kindness someone told me once. As a cyclist, you're obviously not going to give lectures to drivers at 20 miles an hour, but there are other steps that can be taken.

As gas prices go up, more and more people are riding bikes to take care of they're daily chores. Don't be a jerk to new riders. We can also work to exact more legal change. Currently there are cities nation wide that are taking many steps to make their roads more friendly for cyclists, whether they be recreational riders or commuters. When laws come up for review, or there are public debates, make sure to get involved. My personal feeling is that more needs to be done in the arena of Driver education and punishment. That is something I've chosen to make a push for in local meetings.

I know there isn't much to this, and I hope this gets you the reader thinking. What can you do to make some change? Read more!

Never Stop Learning...Mulholland Challenge 08 Ride Report

When I was much, much younger than I am today a friend's parent told me to never stop learning. "You'll continue to encounter valuable lessons throughout the rest of your life; things will happen, you'll meet people who will teach you things. If you leave your mind open to each of these experiences and allow yourself to learn from them you'll be a richer, wiser person" or something like that. I've never forgotten that quote, despite all the heavy drinking and recreational drug use I've managed to hold onto that quote and live by it pretty well. One thing I learned in my formative years is this: "The more difficult something is the more rewarding it is when it's done." along side that I've figured out that "the more adversity you face, the more you take away from it". Yesterday was very difficult, and wrought with adversity. Here is a list of the things the Mulholland Challenge taught me...

1. Read the Route slip. When you are riding a ride that is 110 miles and has 12,000 ft. of gain you should follow directions. You should especially follow directions if the ride consists of riders doing 100 miles, or 200 miles, because if you follow the people doing 200 miles it WILL take you off course and you're not going to know you're lost early enough. So always follow directions. Within this lesson I also learned that adding an unexpected 10 miles and 1200 ft. of climbing is bad. And by bad I mean not good.

2. Gloves are good. Fingered gloves are good to have for these rides that start cold and then warm up very quickly. I thought I was being smart by not packing any cold weather gear since the ride was only going to be cold for the first hour. "I'll deal with the cold" I told myself...And I did, in a numbingly painful way. I couldn't feel my fingers to pull the brakes for the first 30 minutes of the ride. It was miserable.

3. Eating is good. Unlike centuries past, I forced myself to eat according to schedule. I planned on alternating Hammer gel and Clif Bloks every 30 minutes. This combined with drinking Cytomax and washing down a salt tab every once and a while should keep me sharp and focused and crampless. I stuck to the plan pretty well. So well in fact that I felt comfortable enough to give one of my last bags of blocks and my last two salt tabs to an ailing rider on Stunt road. Of course on the home stretch My left thigh cramped up so bad that I thought I was going to fall off my bike. I only brought one extra serving of Cytomax though, I should have brought 2 extra.

4. Decker rd. is an Evil Mistress. It's true. Decker lures you with the prospect of glory, then pummels you with ridiculously steep gradients. You hear stories of the road that is Decker and you think how much of a legend you'll become when you've ridden up it. You get past what you think is the most difficult part, onto the sections that are only slightly less steep and then it tempts you with false tops that bend around deceiving corners. Every time you think the climbing is done around that bend, it bends around again in the opposite direction to expose more road that is much higher than where you are. The rest stop on Decker is where I took my longest break. It was the hottest part of the day, and I was completely out of water and Cytomax when I got to the top.

5. Once you've climbed Decker, everything else seems like a highway overpass. I thought the climbing on Cotherin was hard. I thought sections of Topanga were a bit difficult. I thought parts of roads all over Southern California were difficult, but none of it is anything like Decker.

6. A 12-25 cassette is not suitable for this ride. It might be for some others, but not for me.

7. Heat sucks. No matter what Doug Wolfe tells you, riding in the heat is really, really hard. Nothing works efficiently when you're really hot. Your heart rate runs high, you process fluids much faster, you cramp easier. Yesterday peaked at around 95 degrees. It was ridiculous. I told myself "I've ridden in heat like this, I'll be fine". Wrong. Yesterday was a struggle. Despite the fact that I never bonked and staved off any cramping until the last mile I was still contemplating dropping out at one point.

8. Eating nothing but Clif Bloks, Hammer Gel and Bananas all day is bad. I don't really need to tell you the details of how I figured this out, I'll just tell you that it's bad and you should take my word for it. Also, at mile 104 bloks just stop tasting good. I ate half a bag at the last rest stop, and left the other half there, I've never done that before.

9. Not all Descents are fun. Descending down Yerba Buena, Cotherin and Deer Creek was the worst part of the ride. The roads were more poorly maintained than the restricted roads in Griffith Park and the asphalt was rougher than your grandma's calloused hands. I had parts of my body going numb that never go numb on rides, and my feet, legs and shoulders killed because of it. I washed out in one bend and nearly lost it too, which left me a bit sketched out for the rest of the ride.

10. This was the best ride ever. Now that I've had time to sleep on it and recover a little bit I can say with some confidence that I really think this is one of the best rides ever. Despite the few rough roads the ride took me though some of the most beautiful parks of Southern California. I couldn't believe how beautiful some of the views were. There were definitely times that I wanted to stop and take a picture, but that just wasn't going to happen as the 123 mile ride took me about 10 hours without the tourist stops.

The route for Mulholland challenge. It was difficult, but extremely rewarding.

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