The Ups and Downs of Callison Road and Shirland Tract

The Peloton had a super ride out to Auburn on Saturday. We started out with an unbelievably crisp morning (in July??!) and lucked out with stunning weather throughout our jaunt through the hills. Fitness was not an issue with this pack as we averaged a tad under 20 mph over most of the terrain but often exceeded that to bring in a 17.4 mph average over the 43.5 mile course with 2400 feet of climbing thrown in. A fresh face in the crowd was Patrick, who drove the pace most of the morning. He looks suspiciously like Performance group material to me!

Callison Road was a treat with its pastoric countryside and still-green hillsides. And Shirland Tract rewarded us with a fast twisting downhill that kept everyone focused on technical skills. Another newcomer to the Peloton was Krysta, who did a magnificent job toughing it out over the rollers and making it look easier than my legs told me it was. Kudos to you, Krysta! Back in Folsom we finished on an upbeat note at Karen's Bakery parking lot and agreed it was a fun workout in the midst of great company. Looking forward to next Saturday already!

[Posted by Stan Schultz: I've taken the liberty to post a recent e-mail sent to me and many others in our group by Ryan Bankerd after he finished the Cycling stage of the Eppie's Great Race. Note to Team Revolutions, nothing but respect for you folks. We all need motivation during competition.]

When we all run in the same "Pack" its hard to see the progress we are making because everyone is getting faster, stronger, and skilled together. Now we all know that I am fairly new to Cycle Folsom and have found myself struggling to hang on to the rear of the Peloton group week in and week out, as a matter of fact with the help of Phil, I learned how to change my first flat on a ride to Discovery park. Well I had an opportunity to test myself against other cyclists Saturday and after seeing the hoard of T/T bikes, shaped helmets and racing team jerseys, I was convinced (to prevent disappointment) this was a race against myself not anyone else.

Riding into the staging area, I heard the familiar voice of Phil, who spotted me in my Cycle Folsom Kit. Phil, who has 3 wins in Eppies (and would get a 4th that day) was there once again, to offer last minute advice not far from where he showed me how to change a tire a few months back. He said: Cut all the turns, use the slight rollers to build up speed conserving energy, and save something for when you see Sunrise bridge because that is when you make your move.

Phil was long gone by the time I received my timing chip, as a matter of fact, almost EVERY rider was gone since my runner struggled in a skilled field. By the time I got my chip we were somewhere near last place. I got up to speed and realized there are A LOT of competitors seeing a Cycle Folsom Jersey blasting by them, and as you folks know, you get a little spike of adrenaline every time you "run down" another cyclist... I was getting a lot of that. I looked down and saw 21 on my speedo and kept repeating Phil's advice in my head. "cut the turns, use the hills to keep your speed up". It was about 8 miles in when I saw a Team Revolution jersey ahead of me. Now some of you may call this childish, but my goal now shifted from merely finishing Eppies, to having a Team Revo rider read the back of my Team Cycle Folsom shorts. I wanted at least one person on that team to know that there is a 1st class cycling club in the foothills and it is not Team Revo. It was during that epiphany, adrenaline washed over me, legs felt light, they turned over easy and my breathing slowed. I looked down at my speedo seeing 25 and realized a peloton had formed behind me. It was not much longer until I passed that Team Revo rider and he jumped in the peloton.

Phil's last piece of advice hit me at that point, "save something for when you see the Sunrise bridge". So I dropped back into the peloton and conserved energy. After a few more twists and turns, there was the Sunrise bridge, and my time had come. At this point wish I had something dramatic to tell you, something like; the Team Revo rider was on my rear tire and I could feel his breath. However when I looked back he was gone, as was most of the peloton. There was just a handful of other riders in the group now and they didn't get the memo about the bridge. I broke out with another rider and we walked away from that pack and they saw, what I set out to show them, the back side of the CF kit.

After that ride I took my team from a certain last place finish, to 6th place, we ultimately finished top ten at Eppies in our division. I am writing this not to boast of one of the best sprints of my life (okay that is part of it) but to assure you that Cycle Folsom is doing great things and Phil's 4th win proved that our pack is getting faster, stronger, and skilled.

Ride leaders; Stan, Kevin, Joel, Phil, Lisa, Ross, Bruce and everyone else, you all have something great here and I will gladly take my spot on the rear tire of the Cycle Folsom Peloton group any day.

Chase or Be Chased

-Ryan

Goal Rides Accomplished!

"No regular Weekend Rides scheduled by Cycle Folsom leaders" didn't equate to lying in a hammock sipping lemonade this past weekend. Between South Tahoe and the Bay Area, members of Cycle Folsom duly canvassed a big slice of Northern California sporting spiffy new kits designed by our own Stan Schultz.

While part of the group hashed it out over five mountain passes on the Death Ride Saturday, others spent Sunday touring 100 miles of San Jose's countryside on behalf of the Livestrong Challenge. This fundraising event to fight cancer-- which raised 1 million dollars (wow!)-- is dear to us: Stan's co-captain for the Cycle Folsom team and Peloton leader Kevin Harris is a cancer survivor who gives inspiration every day, reminding us that life is to be savored.

However, around mile 70 savoring turned to suffering as we approached the mountain range standing between us and the finish line. Cyclists generally speak of "climbing" hills, but the 1.8 mile long Metcalf Road is more appropriately, um... scaled up a 12% gradient. But that regular training we do together week in and week out was apparent in the ever-present power of OZ Lee, who scampered up every tilt the road dished out. This far into the ride Kevin couldn't resist chasing the carrot and beat everyone to the top of the grade handily. I think I saw a trail of AAA batteries in his wake though...

Now that goal rides are complete, we'll be dialing back the intensity of weekend rides. Come join us and enjoy some fun times!

W.B. Pond Park Ride Becomes Sticky

It was a beautiful morning Saturday as we began our ride out to William B. Pond Park and back. There were 8 of us at the ride start, with capabilities ranging from the oh-so-quick Oz and Gary, to Peloton newcomer Graham. Graham has been riding in our 11am Beginner rides, in addition to doing several rides on his own. Given that the pace was definitely on the high side of our Group's typical range, he did a great job holding on for most of the way out to W.B. Pond, and a good part of the way back. Nice job Graham. Keep up with the training. Soon you'll be pulling us.

On the way out, things got a little sticky—for two reasons. First, several other cyclist joined our pace line and did a pretty good job sticking to us like glue. At one point we had about 15 riders in the pace line.

Second, the trail got a little clogged up with some slower riders and some oncoming traffic, which resulted in a pretty scary near miss. It was a sober reminder to all of us how important it is to keep the adrenaline and testosterone in check, and to exercise patience and safety whenever we're riding.

Even if it means that a gap will be created, the safety of yourself and especially the others around you and behind you in the pace line is more important than your reputation for holding someone's wheel. Our group can gain or lose respect very quickly depending on how we're perceived on the trail, so let's all try to keep safety as our #1 goal when riding.

New Cameron Park Loop - looks like a keeper!

We had a good turn out yesterday for our CycleFolsom Peloton Group Ride considering the wind and the heat. There were six of us trying out the new Cameron Park Loop introduced by Joel. This incorporates some of the Rescue Route and part of the Tuesday Evening climbing workout in El Dorado Hills.

http://ridewithgps.com/routes/34266

We had the pleasure of riding with Jessica who joined us for the first time. Jessica is a second year student at Berkeley and visiting Folsom for a couple of weeks while on break before heading back for summer school. She’s only been riding since November and yet did a great job keeping up with the boyz. Course, she's only half our age and also does Triathlons so it's not like were real fast or strong!

As usual the group started out from Karen's where we deviated just a bit from the posted route by heading out across the trail and up to Folsom Lake Crossing. From there were riding the Rescue Route which follows East Natoma St, Green Valley Rd, Malcolm Dixon Rd back onto Green Valley to Deer Valley Rd then right onto Starbuck Rd. Starbuck starts with a small climb which can lead you to think, "come on not more climbing" but its short and for the most part you enjoy a nice downhill ride to Green Valley Rd. Good thing because it was starting to heat up but thankfully the wind really wasn't a factor, yet!

We quickly regrouped at the bottom before continuing onto Cambridge Rd and then a right onto Country Club Drive. This takes you through Cameron Park with a few rollers and fairly quiet roads light on traffic. Turning right onto Bass Lake Road exposed us to the wind and much more traffic but all in all it really wasn't as bad as I had anticipated. Turning left onto Serrano Parkway I mentioned to Bruce that the wind was not nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be which was a good thing because most of us were running low on water and needed to fill up before tackling the infamous Willson Blvd and the steep climbs up to Beatty Drive.

The old El Dorado Hills Golf Course proved to be the perfect stop to refill and take a short break. Played many a not so serious golf games there (by which I mean playing with friends, drinking a few beers along the course and really not keeping score). Its a shame to see it in such bad shape now!

Once everyone had refilled and taken in some shade, we continued out to El Dorado Hills Blvd and then left onto dreaded Willson Blvd. Now this starts out not too bad but as soon as you wind left it quickly steepens and you know your in for some work. And its not done just because you reach the top, no after turning right onto Ridgeview Dr and then onto Knollridge your reminded that you gotta work for that fast ride back down Beatty Drive.

We regrouped again on Katie Way where Tim took a quick picture of the group. Thanks Tim for the pic, from left to right is: Kevin, Chuck, Joel, Bruce and Jessica on Katie St, El Dorado Hills about to head down the infamous Beatty Drive...

After a fast ride down we turned left onto Alexandra and then onto Sophia Pkwy where we formed a loose pace line again fighting some good wind. Sophia turns into Empire Ranch Rd which we followed right onto Iron Point Rd which climbs up to the top of "Costco Hill". At this point the group broke up a bit and we lost Jessica on the last climb up. Tim, Bruce and Scott headed on down and I waited up for Joel and Jessica. She's new to the area and I didn't what her felling lost and left behind on her first ride out with the group. Sometimes being a ride leader or co-leader does not mean your always in front, it means looking out for everyone and making sure you stay together as a group. The last thing you want to leave new riders with is a feeling that everyone just left you behind on a route they've never ridden. At the same time you don't want to hold anyone else back from achieving their training goals for the day.

At the bottom of Iron Point, Tim, Bruce and Scott were waiting for the rest of us and we continued down to Folsom Blvd and across to the trail. At this point everyone knew the way back and you could see the pace really starting to pick up. It seems natural on the last couple of miles on the trail to start challenging yourself and others at this point with the small rollers and fast curves. But you really got to keep you head because the trail gets very crowded this time of year and you don't want to come rolling around a corner and take out a jogger or family out for a nice Saturday ride - bad form and reflects poorly on CycleFolsom.

With just over 43 miles which the group did in 2:51 for an average of 15.1 mph, this routes a keeper. It's got something for everyone, challenging climbs but not gut busters, rollers for recovery and rewarding descents!

Getting back to basics brings out new comers.

This weekend's ride was intended to give a welcome break to Peloton ride leaders who completed a few major goal rides over the past couple of weeks, and to inspire new comers and re-entry riders to come out and give Cycle Folsom a try. The destination was William B. Pond Park, approximately 30 miles round trip. The ride description indicated that the pace would be a bit more tame than usual, which proved successful as we had 4 new comers, 3 re-entry riders, and 3 regulars.

There was a slight chill in the air at 8am when we started, but the wind was fairly calm and the sun was seemed ready to warm us up fairly quickly.

Our pace varied from time to time, but stayed in the range of 17 mph. It was enjoyable to hear---and take part in---discussions throughout the pack.

Ross Del Ducra took the lead of the pack for several miles as other leaders moved up and down the line in the group. As we road within striking distance of the bridge before W.B. Pond Park, Stan called for a sprint across the bridge. In typical fashion, he did this only after he gained plenty of speed and caught everyone totally off guard.

After a brief break, we headed back. Our pace was about the same. At Sunrise Park, we crossed the river and did a quick up-and-down on the small hill on River Dr. The goal being to show new riders a way to incorporate "repeats" on small hills on an otherwise flat trail, and begin to build some strength to take on larger hills.

As we headed back toward the ride start, every one was made aware that the stronger riders would likely up the pace as they got closer to the finish. The prediction held true, after passing a lot of runners and walkers that were part of a fun-run event, four of us pushed pretty hard all the way to the end.

As we all re-grouped in the end, it seemed that the goal of the ride was met. The newer riders didn't seem shell-shocked, the re-entry riders had a bit more confidence in their smiles, and the regulars enjoyed a great ride with a little less pounding than normal.

Weekend Ride: TOC Stage 1 Finish

[Posted by Stan Schultz] Phil, Jeff, Kevin, Joel, and Stan met up at Karen's for a ride down to Sacramento to see the Stage 1 finish of the Tour of California. Don and Kim of Team Juice Plus also joined us. The pace was comfortable out to Nimbus Dam, where we picked up Cesar and Jeff.

As Kevin moved out front, the pace gradually picked up. Then, it seemed, as each rider had something to show as they moved out front to pull. Kim kicked the pace up to 23 mph and pulled several miles before handing it off to husband Don, who wasn't about to let up. I was behind Don, and next up to pull. As we moved within a few miles of W.B. Pond Park, relief set in. I knew we would make our normal stop there. I wouldn't have to pull nearly as long or hard as the animals before me.

Mind you, Phil and Jeff had ridden the Davis Double Century the day before, and Joel had ridden a Century with 11,000 feet of climbing, so they were justifiably grumbling in the back of the back. The pace slowed down a touch the rest of the way, but not by much.

We arrived downtown to a festive atmosphere and plenty of vendor stands to peruse before the finish of the race. A few in the group split up and met up with other friends. We bumped in to Team Van-Hu-Ha (Ron and Lisa), who had ridden the Davis Double the day before and opted to drive to the race and bring a couple of family members along.

Four of us staked out a good place to see the finish. We found a spot that allowed us to see a Jumbotron for updates. We reveled in the knowledge that we often ride the same roads that the pros were racing on today. It was interesting to have a sense of the grades and challenges the riders faced as we watched them on screen. We stood about 20 feet from a 90° turn on the course and were awed by the tightness of the pack as they sped around it.

We were about 50 yards past the finish line, which was fantastic because we could watch the finish on the Jumbotron across the street, followed by Mark Cavendish coming to a stop about 15 feet away from us, greeted with hugs by team reps and teammates. Other high profile and well-known pros also cruised by after the finish at a comfortable pace, including George Hincape, who the crowd went wild for.

After it was all over, we picked up our bikes from the free bike parking area, hosted by the Sacramento Area Bicycle Advocates (Note: If you're not a supporter of SABA, you should be). We agreed that we would tame the pace for the ride home, which meant around 19mph. We all made it home with a healthy appetite, just in time for dinner. For me, that meant a couple of rolls and a beer at Sushi Unlimited. Great ride. Great day. Looking forward to seeing the rest of the race unfold.

Are You Tougher Than A 6th Grader?

Well, that's a tough question to answer when the 6th grader you're up against is Connor Ellison. On May 8th a small but merry band of Cycle Folsom contingents joined other area cyclists in a fundraiser for a local young man with a passion for bicycles. I hate to say it but being chased by a 12-year old over the likes of Beatty Hill and Cothrin Ranch Road is a humbling experience.

What is impressive about Connor is that he has a congenital liver disease severe enough to warrant an eventual transplant, but it doesn't stop him from setting (huge) goals. Although he faces very real odds of life-threatening illness, even at this young age he has realized he can do something to fight back. He joined Team Donate Life and aspires to complete the Ride Across America in June. Read all about his campaign here: https://www.teamdonatelife.com/6thgrader/6th_grader.asp

Although we all ride these country backroads on a regular basis for free, it was heartwarming to witness the cycling community come together in support of this young lad. Several Cycle Folsom regulars turned out for the event and helped to sponsor Connor's epic adventure. All in all there were nearly 200 riders and it was estimated he's raised over $6000 so far. I've been mighty unmotivated to saddle up at times, but when the likes of Connor, his cause, and his determination cross my path, it's time to rethink how lucky I am to even have a bike or the health to move it forward. Thank you Connor for your inspiration. All of us from Cycle Folsom will be with you in spirit next month!

Yet More Tour de Cure

Finally got around to adding my post, better late than never I guess

The weather for this ride was almost perfect, especially when you consider that last year I’m told everyone had to ride in steady rain and wind!

I had a couple of goals for this ride, one was to improve on last weeks Wildflower Century time of 6 hrs, 43 minutes and to break the 6 hour mark. I was also trying out Perpetuem from Hammer Nutrition to see how that worked for me during this long ride. With Jeff and Joel pulling for most of the start of this ride I figured this is going to be a cinch! Ya right, there are always those damn hills, and I hate climbing!

Jeff from the CycleFolsom Performance group was leading & pulling most of the way with Joel right on this tail. We also had a several other very strong riders who rode with us in the pack who rode with us on the Folsom Lake loop ride.

After the 50 mile rest stop at the fire station, I decided I’d try to maintain the pace these stronger riders had established and get them to pull me up the dreaded climbs to come. And for a while that plan worked. At one point they dropped me for a short period then I was able to catch back up and actually take my turn at pulling at the front, all be it for a short time before the entire group passed me like I was Grandma on a beach cruiser!

Slowly but surely, I lost sight of the tail end of the group not long after turning onto Bancroft Road at the Halsey Forebay reservoir turn. Then I managed to get myself lost and ended back up at the Halsey Forebay reservoir turn. Great, extra climbing! Just as I pulled out the map Stan, Lisa and Ron were coming down Christian Valley Road to make the turn onto Bancroft Road at the reservoir. After some good natured ribbing and directions from a couple of the SAG volunteers, I was off again back down Christian Valley Road.

After making up some lost time down the climb I had just come up, I was back on course and rolling down Bowman Road along Hwy 80 where I should have been all along. Soon after making the turn onto Auburn Ravine Road who should I see but Stan, Lisa and Ron again! This worked out great because I was able to ride along with them conserving my energy while I sucked off their wheels. The four of us along with one guy on a “fixie” (fixed gear bike) and several other rides formed a new pace line and were soon back up to a 20+ MPH pace on our way back to Roseville.

It’s just about at this point that I noticed my elapsed ride time of about 5hrs, 40 mins and start thinking “ok, if I’m gonna break the 6 hour mark I gotta get up front with Stan and another rider who seem to be hammering it back. So I jumped in front of the pack and started hammering it myself to catch up with them in hopes of getting them to pull me back in before hitting 6 hours. It worked, I caught up with them and then took several turns pulling myself before I had to confess to them, “I’m done, that’s all I’ve got” and dropped back behind the two of them for the reminder of the ride to the start at HP Drive.

Did I break the magic 6 hour mark, well almost! Total ride time was 6 hours 1 minute and 23 seconds. Not too bad considering I had gotten lost and added in what seemed like an extra 5 miles of climbing.

All and all this was a great ride with great riding partners for a great cause. As Stan mentioned when he and I got together late last year to plot out what rides we wanted to do this year, this one was one of those “got to do rides” and after Saturday, its got to be on the list for next year as well!

More Tour de Cure

[contributed by Lisa Haas]
Yep, it was a beautifully calm bright spring day-- perfect to put my good health to work for the benefit of those in need. Usually on our regular Saturday jaunts I meet up with a group of cyclists with set jaws and pockets full of bananas. But this was a special morning in that the gang gathered under a big inflatable red Tour de Cure arch representing at least 4 separate charity teams yet riding together as the Cycle Folsom cohorts we've become.
We rolled out of the starting line and chatted it up the first 26 miles, proving that indeed there is such thing as a "conversational pace" after all. Once we settled back into pace after the first rest stop a tug of competition hit the front end of the group while I hunkered down for the climbs. Not bad strategy given we arrived at the 50 mile stop in time for a send off to Joel, Jeff, Kevin, and Kirk for the next leg of the journey. At that rest stop I'm sure somebody secretly changed out my tires for velour-- the climb out was a beastie grind and a reminder of how much riding I haven't been doing lately. But experience has taught me every long-suffering climb has a rewarding descent, fabulous scenery, and the thrill of accomplishment. As we rolled on through rest stop 3 we collected a hardy pack of gentlemen to form a brisk paceline back to Roseville. The afterburners kicked in for the strong front end as the town came into view: 22 mph and increasing. At mile 93 I let the boys race home without me, clocking myself in at 6:09. It's worth mentioning that even though we were dropped by the elite Performance riders, a scant 3 participants got past the tenacious Peloton crew over most of the course and we finished in front of the lion's share of 100 mile starters. I owe the credit of my progress to Da Boyz.
Geez... I had no idea there was a goal to finish in under 6 hours, but what else would I expect from my Cycle Folsom brethren but to set the bar just beyond my fingertips?

Tour de Cure Makes for a Good Early-Season Challenge

Each ride leader who rode in the Tour de Cure will be contributing commentary for this week's blog:

[Contributed by Stan Schultz]

Back in January, Kevin and I decided it would be useful to plot out goal rides for the 2010 season. These goals would help keep our training focused, and us motivated. We agreed that this would also help us as Cycle Folsom ride leaders, too. After doing my first century last summer, I set a goal to do 5 centuries this year. The Tour de Cure represents the first of the year for me. Kevin also did the Chico Wildflower last week, so he's one up on me already! 

The ride started with a group of 7 CF riders and 3 or 4 others starting together. After a nice several mile warm up, the pace started to pick up. Everyone held together in a well-structured pace line. After the first water stop we were to face our first set of hills. One group pretty quickly turned into two, and after a moderate attempt to keep up with the lead group, I realized that I would be better off settling in to a slower pace and enjoying the ride. I'm glad I did, the weather was perfect yesterday and the scenery was spectacular.

Oak trees were everywhere, covered with bright, tender spring foliage. The field grass was tall and lush, punctuated with dainty, colorful wild flowers. A few small lakes on the course were full, feeding the many creeks that ran alongside the route. The hills were somewhat stair-stepped, which I appreciated. The views from atop the hill climbs made the effort worth while.

My goal was to finish in under 6 hours. In the end, I rolled in at 6 hours 1 minute. Call me a cheater, but I think I'll chalk it up as a success.

[Contributed by Joel Brandt]

First of all...a HUGE thank you to all who contributed in helping raise money for the fight against diabetes. Regardless of the outcome, each rider should be proud of raising the $150 minimum needed to enter this years event. With that said, a special thank you is in order to Jeff T for putting us all on his back and carrying us through the first 50 miles...and then some...

The event couldn't have had better conditions with sunshine and a high in the low 80's. Last year's event produced thundershowers and winds gusting up to 15-20 mph making this year's event seem like a breeze...no pun intended! 7 CF riders along with a couple of riders who joined us on the Folsom Lake tour a couple of week's ago, embarked on a 100 mile journey.

With the pace being set around 15mph to start out, I could tell Jeff was itching to up the ante and get things rolling. Once we were out of the city limits of Roseville, the heat was turned up on the weather and the pace (could have just been my HR making the weather hotter, who knows?) We took turns leading a pace line of around 12 riders that helped keep an average around 19 to the first rest stop. After a few adult beverages of water and Perpetuem, we headed for the hills. This is where the fun began! Our group seemed to pick off the early starters one by one and by the time we reached the 2nd rest stop at the 50 mile mark, we discovered that Jeff was the 2nd person to arrive! The main group of us "dropped" riders arrived around 3 minutes behind him, so we did ourselves proud over the first half of the century. 

After filling up on more adult beverages of G2, H20 and Perpetuem, we headed for the hills of Crater Hill and Bald Hill Rd. This is where the pack dispersed in a hurry. 8-15% grades have a tendency to do that, however each individual persevered through tough climbs, missing road markers and beautiful scenery and made it back to the 3rd rest stop around mile mark 70. From here it was mostly a well deserved descent back into Lincoln and the Roseville finish. With each of us having our own personal goals, it was great to see that our hard training over the last few months have paid off.

Jeff finished in 5:28 (believed to be the 1st 100 mile finisher), Kevin and Stan finished at 6 hours and I accomplished my goal of getting below 6 hours by hitting a riding time of 5:49. Without the support and advice that the CF gang provides I know I never would have come close to hitting this time. Last year took me over 7 hours to complete! It was truly a joy riding with Jeff, Stan, Kevin, Lisa, Ron and Kirk...I look forward to future rides and new journeys!

Old Frenchtown Road Makes the Effort Worthwhile

Seven Peloton Group riders started out on what was a new route for most  us. It was slightly chilly at the start, but warmed up nicely. Lisa Haas designed this route based on past experience, and some additional guidance from Steve Ward to help avoid some traffic and increase safety. We soon found out that Steve's recommendations typically involve a hill or two.

We rode out to Latrobe Road and then onto Cothrin Ranch Rd. I'll blame it on the beautiful scenery, but we all missed a turn that would have kept us on Conthrin Ranch Rd. The result was a pretty tough climb to the ridge. I've since heard reports that the grades throughout that area were 14-15% and up to 18%. We re-grouped at the top and got our bearings with a trusty Google Maps app. Soon we were back on track, heading toward French Creek Road.

It seemed that everything was awash in the emerald green that only Spring can bring. Trees overarched the road; their shade kept slight chill on our skin. A small farm-raised dog threatened to tear us all limb-from-limb as it scampered back and forth behind the wire fence, barking ferociously as we passed.

As we finished up Old French Town Road, Lisa, Ron, Ryan, and Brian took a bypass to Green Valley Rd., while Joel, Kevin and Stan continued up Motherload Rd. to Missouri Flat. Both groups agreed to meet up again at the Rescue Fire Station, but the latter group had a few more miles to cover and a couple of hills. After a quick stop for water at Safeway, Kevin, Joel and Stan were on a mission to get to the Rescue Fire Dept. Thinking that the others might move on without them, they arrived at the fire station to see Lisa and Ron returning from pizza joint across the street, holding a big ol' ham sandwich with all the fixings---and freshly fried potato chips!

After the "nutrition" break, we made our way back on Deer Valley Road and back out to Green Valley. From that point, we usually would take Green Valley all the way home, but Lisa plotted the route to return via Malcom Dixon Road. It was a pleasant surprise. We've gone out on Malcom Dixon the other way several times, but never experienced the road in the other direction. I think I liked it better. This hills go mostly down in that direction, not up.

In the end, we covered just over 58 miles with just under 4500 feet of climbing, all in about 3 hours and 51 minutes. The ride definitely worked up our appetites---perhaps prompted by the ham sandwich at Rescue. A separate Facebook post by Kevin revealed that he stopped for an In-and-Out Double Cheeseburger and a Shake on the way home. Well-deserved.

Thanks to again to Ron for the photos. Visit Ron and Lisa's "Team Van-HuHa" blog for more photos and additional commentary on the ride.

Folsom Lake Loop: First goal ride of the season for the Peloton Group

And what a ride it was! Several riders from the Performance Group joined us for this one and we had about 26 riders in total yesterday which made for quite an impressive site heading out from Folsom. I kept looking for the support cars and the camera helicopter flying overhead with Versus’ Phil Legit and Paul Sherwen voices in the background announcing the ride!

Leaving Karen’s we headed out on Auburn Folsom Rd to E Natoma St then left onto Salmon Falls Rd. Now Salmon Falls starts out as a nice winding route with gradual rollers but don’t be fooled as soon you find yourself cranking up several gradual climbs as a warm up to what’s to come! The group started out together for the most part but once the steeper climbs start in it doesn’t take long for those stronger riders to slowly break away and form a group of their own.

Our first stop for a short break was at the top of a climb across from Zee Estates.

After a short water and refueling stop, we regrouped and were off to Pilot Hill the “official” water and regroup stop.

Several of the faster riders headed out first and after some reminders about how narrow and fast the road will get, we head out and soon you find out just how fast the ride down Salmon Falls really is.

Riding down Salmon Falls Road with its steep curves and no shoulder to speak of, means your riding 2 to 3 abreast in between cars. For me, I love these fast grand prix style turns hugging the corners right behind a car. In fact on a bike you can actually handle the turns faster than the cars can and find yourself having to slow down just to avoid hitting the car a few feet in front of you!

When you get down to the confluence at the bottom and look up to the right at the Auburn-Foresthill Bridge soaring 730 feet above the river, you get a sense of just how far and fast down the hill you’ve come.

Turning right at the El Dorado St/Old Foresthill Rd tee put us on yet another long steady 12% - 14% grade climb up to the approach of what is the 3rd highest bridge in the U.S. and the tallest in California!

From there we rode thru Auburn, got a bit off track at High Street but soon found our way to Auburn Folsom Road and back down into Folsom. Oz, thanks for doing another great job of keeping us "slower" riders on track and riding at a pace that keeps pushing us!

Once passing Indian Hill Road, the group of 10 or so broke up into two and for most of the return ride back to Folsom we attempted to take "short pulls" up front and keep riders rotating out. It gets a bit dicey though on Auburn/ Folsom with its busy traffic and narrow to no shoulder at all to keep a steady pace line going will frequently rotating riders up front.

This ride lived up to being our first goal ride for the Peloton group of the year. I can really fell the group improving not only on the climbs but on the rollers and pushing the pace on the flats. Thanks everyone for a great ride!

I had this one at about 3 hours 21 minuets ride time with about 4500 feet of climbing for a distance of just over 54 miles.

Iron Serpent Modified: This one still has a Bite!

Oz and Brian from the Performance group lead a smaller group of us than usual as a lot of the CycleFolsom group was riding in the Party Pardee ride down in Ione. Today’s route was a modified Iron Serpent route that included less climbing than the original but still packed a potent bite of its own!

We started out from Karen’s as usual and had just worked up to a good warm up pace across the Folsom Lake Crossing when Stan calls out “I’ve got a flat”. Once we all got stopped to help out he mentions that he put new tires on a couple of weeks back and has dealing with chronic flats ever since caused by what he described as a metal thread from the tire rubbing against the tube that he couldn’t get rid of. So he decided to turn back and have the shop take a look at it. Turns out he did have sharp piece of gravel or glass that caused the flat and didn't realize it 'til he got home. A visit to Bicycle Planet fixed him up and he was able to restart his ride from there up Mt. Costco, to Beatty to Serrano, out to Bass Lake Road. Looking back on it I’m surprised we didn’t end up crossing paths as that’s just about the same route we took and we could have met up on Sophia Parkway or Bass Lake Road. Still, it sounds like he got a decent climbing ride in.

Meanwhile we continued over to East Natoma and Sophia Parkway and up to the top of Beatty Road. Just as we crest the top, John, who usually rides with the Performance Group and wears the Folsom High kit, met up with us and rode with us until we came down Appian Way on our way back to Folsom.

From here we continued up the rest of Beatty Road down to El Dorado Hills Blvd up Serrano Parkway all the way to the top where it meets Bass Lake Road. Now, here’s where it gets interesting because little did Joel and I know we were heading for the south side of Hwy 50 and what turned out to be a 20%+ grade climb up Boulder Ridge Road. We rode right past that buffalo ranch that you can see on the right driving east up Hwy 50 just before Bass Lake Road. We continue under Hwy 50 and up a short climb on Marble Mountain Road. As we get close to the start of the big climb, Oz tells all of us “make sure your in the lowest gear you’ve got before turning the corner up here because once you start up the climb you won’t have time to shift” – great, sounds like this is gonna be fun, not!

And he was right, that left turn onto Boulder Ridge does come fast and immediately you’re starting the climb up. As I start digging in, Oz calls out the percent grade, “12, 14, 16…” that’s when I interrupted him by saying “Ok Oz I’ve heard enough” as I look up the climb looks like your going straight up. No kidding folks, I felt my front tire coming off the road a couple of times as I found myself pulling up on the handle bars just trying not to fall off the peddles! As you get to the top of the ridge it takes a left turn and guess what, yep another climb! Thankfully, it’s a short climb and we regroup at the top before heading back down to Bass Lake Road.

Once we got the north side of Hwy 50 on Bass Lake Road, we take a left and ride down Hollow Oak Drive to a much needed water stop and short break. From here we head back up Hallow Oak to Bass Lake and over to Serrano Parkway. From here Oz takes the group thru the entrance to the Serrano Country Club and we ride thru the Serrano gated community with its big homes and great views of Folsom Lake and the surrounding areas. Exiting the gated community we met up Appian Way which some of us had ridden up to the “water tower” during a mid-week ride on Thursday which turned out to be a bit of precursor to this climb fest!

From here we continue down Silva Valley Pkwy across Green Valley down Lakehills Drive to Guadalupe Drive and more climbing, great! At this point I’m just about climbed out but surprising fell pretty good about the fact that we’ve ridden what I consider to be a challenging route for the Peloton group. Continuing on Guadalupe connects to the “back side” of Francisco Drive and El Dorado Hills. Its here we take a slight detour and make a pit stop at Oz’s house for a much needed “bio break”! Thanks Oz

The rest of the ride was pretty standard stuff, down to Green Valley over to Folsom Lake Crossing and back on the American River Bike Trail. Thought I heard some mumbling that Joel wanted to head up to Beales Point before heading back but gotta say at this point I was glad we skipped that last climb and headed straight back to Karens.

Sorry about no pictures for this ride, it was all I could do to hang on without having to fumble with my cell phone camera. Here’s where we missed our “unofficial/official” group photographer Ron!

This was a great climbing work out and after the Thursday afternoon ride on much of the same roads didn’t seem too bad. Overall about 4,350 feet of climbing over 46+ miles for a total of just about 3 hours of riding. Not too bad boyz, not too bad at all!

See ya next week

Discovery Park: Flat City!

[by Kevin Harris] The Performance and Peloton Groups rode together today out to Discovery Park and back for a Long Slow Distance ride. But it didn’t end up that way!

We had a good turnout today for our combined Group Ride, plus two new riders came out for a new "Grupetto" ride around Lake Natoma, led by Stan. Good to see new riders out. All three groups started out from Karen’s this morning for what promised to be very enjoyable ride. The weather was great.

The Grupetto Group dropped back pretty quickly, but the Peloton and Performance Groups pretty much stayed together. As we reached William B. Pond for our first scheduled stop, we collectively made a quick decision to skip the stop and push onto Discovery Park. However, once the group got to about Sacramento State, Phil called out “flat” and several of us stopped to help out. This naturally broke the group into two. Tuned out it was Ryan with the flat, and the first of what would be two for him for the day! Once that was taken care of, Phil discovered he had a slow leak himself and decided to go ahead and change out the tube just to be safe. By the time we got going again we knew the others would be far ahead so we pushed the pace a bit to make up the lost time.

Just as we got to the outer edge of Discovery Park, the first group was coming the other way. They decided to turn around and return with us back to the water stop at Discovery Park for a regroup.

We were pleasantly surprised to see Kirk Stanfield, one of our Peloton riders from last year who we haven’t seen out for several weeks due to an old knee injury. Turns out he had left Karen’s not long after the combined group had departed and just beat us there by only a couple of minutes. Nice riding Kirk!

Before leaving Discovery Park, several Bicycle Planet riders joined us on the ride back to Karen’s and helped push the pace up to about 24 MPH! We ended up with about 12 or so in the group and soon reached William B. Pond for our schedule return stop. But once again the group decided to push onto Karen’s without stopping.

The pace picked up again just before the bridge and the group broke into two separate groups. A couple of us ended falling back a bit and lost sight of the faster group. We soon started to work together and just before reaching Sunrise we spotted the faster group again. Tim departed at Sunrise and I continued to push on to catch what I thought was the entire first group. Turns out they were Joel, Jeff and Phil by themselves riding at a slower pace. The four of us continued onto the Fish Hatchery then stopped for a water refill and to wait a bit for the others to catch up. After about 10 minutes we continued on back to Karen’s, taking the north side route around Lake Natoma.

Once back a Karen’s we found out later that Ryan had his second flat of the ride (the rear tire again!) during the return ride. All and all a very enjoyable ride with fantastic weather and good company

Next week, the Folsom Lake Loop which promises to be quite a challenge for the Peloton riders.

Rescue Ride: Head For Them Thar Hills!

As we move out of primarily building base miles, our routes are gaining elevation and preparing us for the challenges of the cycling season. The first weekend of spring was heralded in by a few more riders joining both the Performance and Peloton Groups to begin their training. New to the Peloton was Ryan, who just finished a half marathon last weekend and wanted to try his hand at hanging with the Cycle Folsom gang. And a fine job he did, too!

We left at 8am (sharp!) for a warmup with the Performance Group over Folsom Dam Crossing, then our routes parted as the Peloton headed east on Green Valley to the scenic Malcolm Dixon Road. This stretch poses some challenging rollers that did a great job preparing us for the workout along Deer Valley Road on the way to our water stop at the Rescue fire station.

Amongst our band was the irrepressible, enthusiastic triathlete Danny, who shared his hill attacking strategies with us. You’ll know Danny when you meet him: he has exquisite style on the bike and endlessly dishes up support and encouragement to the other riders.

Once we refilled our bottles at the fire station we put our newly learned hill climbing skills to the test on the undulating Ponderosa Road. Along the way we crossed paths with the Performance riders and traded a friendly “thumbs up” as they headed towards Rescue. What ensued was a nearly futile downhill chase for Stan and Joel’s wheel all the way back to El Dorado Hills.

Thankfully a red signal or two thwarted their getaway and helped us regroup before the final leg up to Beal’s Point and back down to the start point.

From there, Stan, Joel, and Danny took on the optional loop around Lake Natoma where the too-hot-to-handle Joel answered every challenge Danny presented with a serious reply. Stan joined the fray and the threesome finished the day completely igniting the rest of the route. Good thing the spring grass is so lush and green – but even this early in the season these guys are a fire hazard!

A Big Thank You to Lisa

[Posted by Stan Schultz] A friend of mine who is considering getting back on her bike after a hiatus showed some interest in training for the Livestrong Challenge, so I was gathering some info for her on the Livestrong Challenge site. While doing so, I stumbled onto the fact that Lisa Haas, one of our Peloton Group ride leaders, quietly donated $100 each to Kevin Harris' fund raising account, and to mine.

I just love those little surprises. So here's one for you, Lisa, join the Cycle Folsom team and I'll contribute $100 to your fundraising account. Dude, er... sweetie?, we NEED you on our team. You could ride the Century route twice if you really feel a need to do another one of those wacky double-centuries of yours (of course you'll miss the festivities after the ride 'cause I'll be stopping for the food, the beer, and the band.)

Anyway, thank you, Lisa, for your very generous contributions. They will motivate Kevin and me to keep working to build Team Cycle Folsom and raise funds. I'm confident others will join us for this great event.

For anyone else considering it: 10, 50, 65, and 100 mile routes are available. The event is incredibly well-supported with food, fun and a band afterward. The routes are manageable, each with one signature hill to make it worth doing. Click here to visit the San Jose Livestrong Challenge site. Need more info? Tips on training for various distances? I'll do my best to point you in the right direction.

The Fox and the Hound. ...and the sheep.

Also see the Performance Group's first Blog entry about this ride: Visit the Performance Group Blog
[Posted by Stan Schultz] It started as one of the Peloton Group's early-season goals: do the 75 mile Ione Loop. It morphed into a friendly challenge that seems to have brought out most everyone's best performance. It's called a "Fox and Hound Ride." The Peloton Group starts the route about 15 to 20 minutes before the Performance Group. The Performance Group then tries to catch and pass the Peloton Group on the same route. The event was stoked up a bit when Steve Ward placed a bet for pizza and beer that the Performance Group couldn't hold a average pace of 19mph over the course of the whole ride.

My account of this ride, unfortunately, was focused primarily on mechanical problems. Multiple flats and tire problems forced me to limp back from Ione, stopping to pump up my tire every 5 to 7 miles. Thanks to Ross for sticking with me, and for giving up his tube and CO2 cartridges.

Follow-up e-mails from others attest to a great ride that brought out a great performance by the foxes and hounds. Stan, Ross, Lisa, and Ron all added one more element to the ride: sheep. A combination of mechanical challenges and a century ride the day before for Ron and Lisa left us behind, like sheep. Fortunately the hounds had more interest in Foxes than Sheep.

Here is a temporary post that I extracted from a follow-up email from Lisa Haas, who justifiably chose to cut the ride short and head back to Folsom with Ron from Rancho Murietta (...by car...oye, long story). Kevin or Lisa will likely write-up a more complete account later, but for now:

[Lisa Haas] This morning as you recall we last saw a tight and well disciplined peloton under Curtis’ tutelage heading northwest towards Irish Hill Road. Not far behind were Feloniously Fast Phil and his pack of hounds nipping at their back wheels. Then Ron and I decided to change our route to an out-and-back in Ione; the wind, Patterson Pass and Palomares really taxed our legs yesterday and we thought it best not to overdo it.  We split off of you and Ross at Irish Hill and returned to Rancho Murieta at a decent pace, but with purpose. Once back at his car Ron and I chose to backtrack the route home for the scenery.

Halfway up Scott Road on the way to Folsom we spied 2 riders up ahead. We figured that with the timing information we had from the CF Ride Library it was likely the Performance group well satiated from gobbling up the foxes. As we got nearer I realized it was Kevin and another rider I couldn’t identify (sorry—I still don’t know everyone yet). They were peddling like fiends, grinning away as we passed and waved. I thought, “Holy cow, they’re out here with nobody else in sight! Where’s everyone else?” They were riding so furiously and were clearly so superhumanly stoked I thought, “Maybe they got a break and are still being chased!” As far as the eye could see there were no other cyclists on the road, so I figured these guys somehow got a lucky break and were having a really good day. Nonetheless, I was duly impressed by the amount of heart they were throwing into their task… and making dang good time!

As we made our way back into town we finally saw other cyclists heading north across Iron Point. Although lots of other riders were on the road today, I had an unsettled feeling I would know who these guys were. As we continued up Sibley  we watched them pull further away from us (remember we’re in the car)—they hit every light green while we stopped at each one, just barely keeping them in view until they disappeared into Old Folsom.

At 12:03 we arrived at the parking lot across from Karen’s Bakery. Standing calmly by the gate with bike stacked up along the fence was Joel whittling away at a snack. Surrounding him were Gary, Phil, and three others whose names I unfortunately haven’t learned yet. All I could think was that blood spilled on Irish Hill Road and the peloton blew apart like it was hit by a nuclear explosion. By the way Curtis was nowhere in sight in the parking lot...I surmised he was already home and showered with a tasty cold beverage in hand. The group agreed.

So let it be known Phil really is feloniously fast—his computer clocked in a preliminary 18.9 mph average with his accomplice felons coming up with similar data. The group handily sliced and diced Ione Loop in a touch over 3.5 hours. I rarely rarely bag a ride, but this was quite an experience and I’m glad I did just to get a first-hand commentary on how the morning played out. On days like these all the behind-the-scenes hard work and training these athletes regularly put in gets a chance to shine and I have tremendous respect for them. It is this dedication that brands Cycle Folsom’s reputation in the community. I’m guessing Steve owes a handful of his riding pals pizza and beer!

More to come about this ride a littler later.

Midweek Afternoon Ride on the South Canal Trail

With the weather improving and the days getting longer, the American River Bike Trail is getting more crowded. The Peloton Group agreed that we need to find an alternate flat route for some of our rides. This afternoon, 4 of us met for an exploratory ride on the South Canal Bike Path. We were joined by three Performance Group members.

From left to right in the photo above: The Amazing Oz, Jammin' Jeff, Feloniously Fast Phil, Kevlar Kevin, Stanley Steamer, Laid Back Lisa, and CycloRon.

As he usually does when he finds out we're trying out something new, CF founder Steve Ward provided us with a great overview of what to expect via e-mail yesterday, as well as several safety and convenience tips about the path.

The path is in great shape and provides a relatively unobstructed ride for miles (we traveled about 10 miles and didn't come close to its end). There are a couple of roads that you have to get across, which can require a bit of patience in the interests of safety, but not too big of a deal.

Given that we had the Performance Group guys with us, we knew we weren't going to get off easy. We faced a moderate headwind on the way out and held a pace of around 18 to 20mph.

After a few miles of double pace line riding (two-up riders, both riders peel off at the same time), we decided to try a revolving single pace line (two-up riders; the left pace line slowly drops back while the right pace line moves forward; as you reach the back of the pack you move right and start moving up, and as you reach the front of the pack you move left and begin to drop back). This was a new technique for the Peloton riders, except for Lisa (and maybe Ron). It took a while to get into sync, but it was very cool one we got the hang of it. We really covered some ground with very little time pulling. It's experiences like this that make me appreciate Cycle Folsom even more. You don't get too many chances to try different pace line techniques on your own, or even in most groups.

On the way back, we had the wind at  our back. We got into our groove and really started movin'. I mostly saw 20 to 22mph when I looked down at my computer. As we came within a few miles of the Nimbus Fish Hatchery, the Performance boys kicked it into high gear in an effort to test each other a bit. I jumped on and held on for all it was worth—giving it a respectable effort for a Peloton level rider—but alas, I had to peel off after a couple miles. In my opinion, it's these little challenges that help you elevate the expectation you have for yourself.

This ride gave us a great taste of what's to come as the weather warms up and the days get longer. I expect that we'll be seeing more mid-week group rides forming.

Thanks once again to Ron Vanhuuksloot for his photographic efforts. The poor guy will race ahead and take pictures as we roll by, leaving him to pull himself back into the pack with a lot of effort. It's appreciated.

Note: We've started a Group on MapMyRide.com. There, you can see the stats for this and other rides. The Leaderboard feature also allows you to compare your mileage and workouts against others who are participating. It can be a great motivator to get you in your saddle so you don't get left behind on weekends.

A point of reference for those who may be thinking of joining us...

We've been getting more inquiries about our Group as the weather begins to warm up. In addition to the weekend ride re-cap posts in this blog, I thought I would post part of a response I sent to a recent inquirer: 

"...Everything is relative, so it's difficult to label hills as easy or hard. I usually refer to the hills that the Peloton Group tackles as "moderately challenging." Like you, I also rode the Folsom Cyclebration Metric Century last year. For reference, that route would serve as one of our most challenging rides around the May to July time frame. This year we might be ready for it a little earlier.

For another reference point: At this point in the season (late Winter / early Spring), most Peloton riders are comfortable with, but still challenged by our "Mt. Costo Loop Route." Many of us use it as a weekday hill training ride. Most of the time, we make it up Mt. Costco and Beatty without fear or concern, but we're still huffing and puffing pretty hard. We recover at the top of the hill pretty quickly with little or no break. 

Hopefully, you'll be familiar with some of these roads: It starts at Karen's Bakery in Old Folsom, down Folsom-Auburn to Iron Point, up over "Mt. Costco," left on Empire Ranch/Sophia Pkwy., right on Alexandria, Right on Beatty Road for and up-and-down, back out to Sophia Pkwy, to Green Valley, to E. Natoma St., over the Folsom Lake Crossing Bridge, up to Beales Pt., and back down to Karen's Bakery. Our average speed over the entire course of this route, including all hills and flats, is usually 14 to 16 mph. (here's a link to it on MapMyRide; Disregard the little jog on Oak Ave where I live)."

Hope that gives a little more perspective for those who may be interested in riding with us. Regulars of the Cycle Folsom Peloton Group, feel free to add your comments in the comment section if you have something more to offer.

Callison Road — New Route Didn't Disappoint

As he burns up and down hundreds of miles of roads throughout the region, Cycle Folsom's founder, Steve Ward, kindly captures and documents rides that he thinks would work well for our Peloton Group. His suggestion of the new Callison Road route didn't disappoint anyone.

This ride is similar to other rides that the Peloton Group has done before, so many of us had done most of this ride. But two slight diversions, Callison Road and Shirland Tract Road, offered a pleasant, peaceful change to the traffic that would otherwise be found on Taylor Road and Folsom-Auburn Road. Mild to moderately challenging hills are scattered throughout the ride, with the toughest probably being Indian Hill. Steve was right when he said, "Callison Road is probably what adds the most charm to this ride." But I personally thought that Shirland Tract Road was pretty cool, too.

Seven of us showed up for the Peloton ride today. Five were regulars and two are "becoming increasingly regulars." I was impressed throughout the ride how each of us demonstrated the effects of our early season conditioning. There was pretty consistent strength, but each rider also showed great strength or sustained power at one time or another during the ride. Seeing this each weekend is what keeps motivating me to keep getting weekday rides in. Very cool to see everyone making incremental gains each week.

It didn't hurt that Mother Nature gave us a big ol' heaping taste of Spring today. The sky was blue, the temp was cool, but comfortable, the fields were lush green, and cherry and other fruit trees were in full bloom. I fall in love with this area all over again when I ride on a day like today.

Thanks to Lisa and Ron for their photo journalism gymnastics during this week's ride.

We'll post a detailed link for this ride route  soon.

Some of us added a loop around Lake Natoma and an up-and-back to Beales Point to so we could tack on a few more miles (A few of us are using a "300 miles in 30 days" challenge on MapMyRide.com to help motivate us).


I'll end my comments here with hopes that others who were on the ride will join in and share their "favorite ride highlights" comments in the comments section of this post. Please be sure to read their comments. They're usually a hell of a lot funnier than me.

Three Groups Become One for Ride to Discovery—for a while anyway!

For today's ride, Cycle Folsom's Peloton Group, Performance Group, and even a couple riders from the Endurance Group met at Karen's Bakery at 8am for a ride to Discovery Park in Sacramento. I never got an accurate count, but I think we had between 17 to 20 riders at the start. It was a beautiful day, just a bit cold when we started, but manageable.

Prior to the ride start, Steve informed the collective group that the ride would likely split apart along the way, with the Performance Group pulling ahead and the Peloton Group holding a slower pace behind.It was an accurate prediction. Knowing that we had a total of about 60 miles to ride, several Peloton Riders dropped the 24 to 25mph pace down to a more reasonable 17 to 20mph.

We arrived at the first rest stop, William B. Pond Park, to see the Performance Group. As they prepared to take off again, a few cyclists who had accomplished their goal of keeping up with the faster pace until they reached the first rest stop decided to hold back to join the Peloton Group for the balance of the ride. We averaged a steady 18 to 19mph the rest of the way to Discovery Park. At Discovery Park, it happened again... we picked up a few more riders who had been riding with the Performance Group, but who were now willing to drop their pace a bit to ride with us.

Somewhere along our ride out to Discovery, we picked up a cyclist who had been riding on his own, but latched on to the Group's wheel as he saw us ride by. Turns out, he's a very well-conditioned triathlete on a race team—a Machine. As we departed Discovery Park, he ended up out front. Aside from a few miles here and there, he pulled the group pretty much all the way back to Folsom. Having someone pull that long is a bit of a blessing and a curse. While it's nice to benefit from a draft all the way home, part of our conditioning requires that each of us take turns "pulling" to help build our respective strength. Nevertheless, today, I was quite content to simply reap the "blessing" of The Machine's willingness to keep pulling.

On the way back, the testosterone seemed to slowly start to flow again. The pace slowly inched its way up to a range of between 22 to 24mph. With such a big group and so much traffic on the trail, alertness, use of signals, and verbal call-outs become so very important. Fortunately, every one seemed to be aware and alert of the safety issues.

Eventually, the Group split into two again on the way back, although I have to confess I'm not sure where. Six of us reached the Hazel Bridge and realized we were on our own and had dropped a number of riders. We continued on, feeling a bit guilty, but also knowing that everyone was quite capable of making their way back. As we neared the ride start at the Folsom Bridge, five of us added an optional up-and-back to Beale's Point for good measure. The Machine—who was still with us and happy to pull—didn't disappoint on the slow, steady grade up to Beale's. Chuck and Joel attempted to sneak an attack ay the top of the hill in to show The Machine that they still has somethin' in them, but a couple of quick clicks of The Machine's gears and a huge burst of energy from those quads of his kept them in check. Meanwhile, Stan was gasping for air at least 100 to 200 yards back.

All in all, quite a ride. Definitely the biggest Cycle Folsom Group ride I've ever been part of. We had a few new riders with us, as well as a relatively new rider. I'm hopeful they enjoyed it as well. They looked great during the ride.

Midweek afternoon ride into the hills

(Preemptive Disclosure: use of the term attack, and fast pace is relative. Look at the four of us and I think you'll know what I mean)

A few of us exchanged e-mails and set up a "slow and steady" midweek ride today, beginning at 3:30pm from Karen's. The route included Mt. Costco, Beatty Hill, over to Serano/Silva Valley, out to Green Valley, E. Natoma, and a run up to Beales Pt. before returning to Karen's.

Kevin and Joel got a jump on Costco and held a pretty good pace, but Stan landed a surprise attack on both of them to grab the sprint points. No one cried foul—but they could have considering that Stan was the one who first suggested that "we should take the ride slow and steady."

We all made it over to Beatty Hill where we met up with one of the Performance Group Ride Leaders, Ozero Lee. Oz is one of the Grandfathers of the Peloton Group, having led the Group for more than a year. He's a great mentor in the hills, however, Stan intends to inspect Oz's bike very closely next time he rides with him. He's confident Oz has an electric motor or two hidden in there somewhere. Oz makes those hills look waaaaaay to easy.It's amazing. Joel kept up with him though, leaving everyone else behind, especially Stan, who was in the waaaaayyyyy back cursing and muttering "Yeah? I beat you all on Costco though!"

We all made it up Serano/Silva in good shape, after which the pace picked up. Kevin surprised us all—throughout the ride—with a pretty brisk pace. But the real dark horse of the ride was Rob, who saved plenty of gas to grab the sprint points at the top Beales Pt., and then again on the way down to Karen's.

Slow and steady. Pfft! Not today.

Threat of Rain Good Excuse for Some

I'm guessing that most riders took a pass on today's scheduled route due to forecasted rain. Stan Schultz and Joel Brandt showed up based on reports of just 30% chance of rain for most of the morning. It turned out that we made the right call. With the exception of mild to moderate headwinds in a few spots, it was a great day for a ride. We rode to Hagen Park & back, followed by a run around the Mt. Costco Loop, which includes Costco Hill, Beatty Hill, and Beales Point. We also ended up tacking on a loop around Lake Natoma for good measure.

We held a moderate pace out to Hagen Park and back, anticipating that we would struggle a bit on Costco Hill, Beatty Hill, and Beales. I'm happy to report that Joel and I both held a respectable pace up Mt. Costco. It was gratifying to catch and pass two riders on the way up the hill who had passed us quite a bit earlier on the trail. We both speculated that they probably had stopped at Costco for a hot dog, which didn't provide optimum energy. We were pleased with how quickly we recovered as we made our way over the top and on to Beatty Hill.

Beatty presented a bit more of a challenge, but we finished strong—challenging one and other to the top. Joel ultimately claimed "King of the Hill" points victory for the day by about 2.5 feet. I snapped off a quick photo to catch him in his glory at the top. We're always careful to hold our "official" King of the Hill challenges when it's just the two of us, so at least one of us can win!

After continuing on to Beale's Point, we both agreed that we had enough time and energy for a loop around Lake Natoma to cap off the ride at just over 55 miles.

It started sprinkling very lightly at the end of the ride as I neared Coffee Republic for lunch on the way home. My little iPhone app from The Weather Channel seemed to be right on the money today.

For future rides, feel follow "CycleFolsomPelo" on Twitter for ride status updates. We usually ride if light rain or sprinkles are expected. We'll bail if showers or high winds are expected.

Next Week's Ride: Discovery Park and back via the American River Trail.

Spectacular Day for Millertown Road Ride

It was just a bit chillier than a typical Spring morning as seven of us gathered together at Karen's Bakery for the Millertown Road ride. The group was made up of a few regulars, a few riders that join us on occasion, and a few new riders. We agreed to hold a bit easier pace up Folsom-Auburn Rd. to Auburn, but that road seems to challenge you at any pace.

About half way up Folsom-Auburn, we got word that one of our regular female riders, Lisa Haas, was trying to catch up to us from her home in Roseville. Normally, we wouldn't hold back and wait for a rider that wasn't there for the start, but Lisa's been a great asset to the Group so we agreed to extend our break at the top of Folsom-Auburn. Just as we were getting a bit antsy to get rollin', Lisa came whizzin' by and yelled, "Whada ya' stoppin for! There's no stopping!" (As an aside Lisa Haas and Ron Vanhuuksloot just complete a 375 mile ride in Puerto Rico that looks like an incredible journey. See Ron's blog for photos and detials. Next week, they'll both be riding in the Camino Real Double Century.)

Shortly after that we made our way over to Millertown Road. What a great day for a ride on such a beautiful rural road. Lush green hills, lots of trees, and a meandering brook. It's where I envision my summer cottage should be. It's mostly downhill at that point, which makes for a really fun ride.

Overall, there was a slight disparity between riders, but the stronger riders exercised some friendly patience at times while also placing the bar just high enough to push the pace, but not make it unreasonable. Overall, the Group held true to our goal of working to improve our fitness while inspiring those who may need it. We regrouped at the tops of most of the climbs, including Indian Hill where the skies were so clear we could see all the way to the old Rancho Seco Nuclear Power Plant (roughly 45 miles away, as the crow flies).

The pace was extremely brisk down Folsom-Auburn. Unfortunately, a poorly-timed red light split the group into two groups of 4 riders. In the end everyone made it back to Karen's Bakery with smiles on their faces. Three of us added an optional loop around Lake Natoma for some additional miles.

Note: We've started a Group on MapMyRide.com. There, you can see the stats for this and other rides. The Leaderboard feature also allows you to compare your mileage and workouts against others who are participating. It can be a great motivator to get you in your saddle so you don't get left behind on weekends.

Rescue Ride, plus an optional loop around Lake Natoma

Six of us showed up for the ride to the small Gold Rush era Town of Rescue. We were a mix of riders who had some mileage and hills under their belt and others whose training is in the earlier stages. The ride to Rescue is almost like doing moderately challenging hill repeats for roughly 30 of the 35 mile out-and-back ride. We took a break to re-fill water bottles and use the bathroom at the Rescue Fire Station.

Our paces varied a bit, but we re-grouped at the tops of hills and everyone made it back to the ride start able to hold their heads high. Three of us continued on for an optional loop around Lake Natoma (kind of building a piggy bank of excuses for drinking a couple more beers during the Super Bowl later in the day).

Next week's ride: Millertown Road. The most challenging part of this ride is getting to the top of Folsom-Auburn Blvd. After that, there one other good size grade, but we'll be riding on some beautiful rural roads after getting through Auburn.

Sunday, January 31: The "Disco" Ride

Sunday turned out to be a great day for a ride to Discovery Park from Folsom (a.k.a. The Disco Ride). There were ten of us. In addition to our core group of 4 or 5 riders who show up like clockwork, another 4 or 5 riders from Team Bicycle Planet joined us. The ride was intended to be a relatively easy ride for them, as some were recovering from a race, and others were prepping for a major race next weekend. Great bunch of guys and very enjoyable to ride with. They reinforced their sponsor's hard-earned image for friendly, approachable expertise. We'll all continue to recommend Bicycle Planet.

There were also a couple of new riders that split off on their own early on due to a disparity in pace.

The pace turned out to be a bit more brisk than we expected, with an average speed of 18 mph over the course of the 58 mile route. Generally, everyone enjoyed the pace, but most of the regular Cycle Folsom riders admitted that they were pushing themselves. Given that it's still early in the year, it was an impressive effort by everyone.

Next week's ride: The Town of Rescue Plus and Option Loop Around Lake Natoma