Brian's Blog

SLO to LA

2010-01-10T11:00:00.000-08:00

So it all started over food. Jeff says "I need to drop off a car on Saturday in San Luis Obispo, anyone want to ride back?" It was so ridiculous that of course my answer would have to be yes. Jeff and I had just met just once before during the Don't Get Fat Camp: PV Ride (Day 4) so it was going to be interesting spending 12+ hrs with someone who I barely knew wasn't all that sure I could keep up with.

Getting Started
Friday morning I did my normal ride to work with my Laptop and two 40oz smoothies in addition to my camel back, phone charger, 2lbs of dates, change of clothes, & extra socks for the ride down. I crammed all this in my backpack and headed to work (I wish now I would have weighed it). Jeff showed up at my work and patiently waited for me to finished with my customers and we were on the road around 5:30pm.

I was reminded why I ride my bike as it took us 20min to merge from the 10E to the 405N. On the way up we stopped at an Albertson's in Buellton and the cashier and bagger freaked out about the quantity of banana's we were buying. For the rest of the trip we (but mostly I) fueled up on Banana/Romaine Lettuce Taco's all the of the way to San Luis Obispo.

We arrived to drop the car off at Kristina & Jeff's place & hung with them and Ozzy for a bit. We talked about food, rides, elite races, elite racers, and the "L" word came up a couple of times before we finally got some rest.

The Ride
&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/ca/san-luis-obispo/253126318913769492"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;SLO to LA&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br/&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.mapmyride.com/find-ride/united-states/ca/san-luis-obispo"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Find more Bike Rides in San Luis Obispo, California&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;
To Rest Stop 1 (19.9mi):
We woke up at 7:15am to the sun coming through the window. The weather was sunny & clear which let me carry less stuff (which is always a plus.) We were rolling on the bikes by about 8:30am. We skipped coffee and headed through downtown SLO looking at all the small shops. Jeff was worried about having a headache later from his coffee deficiency. We rolled onto Hwy1, through Pismo Beach then stopped at a gas station between Oceano and Chandler.

To Rest Stop 2 (58.45mi):
We left the gas station and continued through the small farming town of Guadalupe that looked pretty deserted. There talk earlier of some amazing coffee shop here but we never found it. The first big climb was up and over Harris Grade Road and with a fun decent into Lompoc. We took a bathroom break at the edge of town before the next climb.

To Lunch Stop (102.11mi):
Out of Lompoc comes a slow gradual climb on San Julian Road on into Gaviota with views of grassy mountains, cows, and hawks, & at this point I think we had seen our 4th skunk road kills. Jeff at some point along this stretch had some nasty noises coming from his rear wheel. We stopped to fix it and turned out to be the lockring for the rear cassettes was loose. Since neither of us (or anyone else I know) normally rides with a cassette tool, Jeff used both of our multi-tools to snug it up until we could get to our lunch stop. Our 100mi lunch stop was to be at our mutual friend Justin & Lydia's place in Santa Barbara. I was definitely ready for a break & was stoked on seeing my friend again after over a year. With about 2mi to go and "as good as there" Jeff gets a flat.

To Rest Stop 3 (179.04mi):
We spent about 45min at Justin's place and fed ourselves a crate of tangerines until we filled a huge bowl to the top with the peels (check it out in the picture). Justin decided to roll along for the next 7miles through the UCSB bike path & then along the bike path that runs through More Mesa. This is amazing path that runs through many shaded and marshy area's. Jeff & I continued on our own through Santa Barbara and onto Carpenteria. The surf was looking good at Rincon but it was fairly crowded.

Jeff got another flat just after Rincon (that's Rincon Point in the background). A lady drove up behind us (should have gotten a picture) and wanted to make sure we were OK. It was just getting dark and she said she was going the other way on the freeway and TURNED AROUND just to check on us. That is just amazing that she would do that for someone. We thanked her as she drove off & I noticed a USA Tri sticker on the back window. We were pacing pretty well through Ventura but come Port Hueneme, I was starting to gas out and was having a hard time hanging on to Jeff. Realizing I had not been eating enough, I ate like 10 dates and was feeling better after about 15min. We came around the corner at Point Mugu and I was expecting this to be the "fun" fast section, but instead we hit headwinds. Strong and gusty headwinds, with sand blowing in our faces! But, it was only for a little while and we hammered on though. This kicked my but though, and Jeff tells me he's out of water, so I give him my waterbottle. And by the time we hit Zuma, I'm totally spaced out, needing food, water and my toes were cramping. I kicked off my shoes outside. I'm in my socks walking through the store checking out a bag of these peanut butter pretzel sandwiches (reading the label to make sure they're vegan with my blurred out, wind beaten, watery eyes). Oh man, how excited you can get over food!

To Rest Stop 4 (199.71mi)
Jeff & I get it back together and hammer out the last 30mi to Santa Monica, counting the hills to Pepperdine, since after that we're pretty much "home free," mentally anyways. I was feeling much better at this point and was thinking about what I was going to have for dinner...

To the end (206.5mi):
Jeff I ride up San Vicente and talk about the day and what is to come in the future. We split off at Bundy and head our separate ways.

Afterwards
I make it back to work, get my laptop, my clothes, & everything I had left there on Friday. Thow it all in the truck and barely make to burrito's at 9:58pm on the way home. I make it home and slept almost 11hours that night. Amazing adventure!

The Off Season

2009-03-01T08:20:00.000-08:00

I've taken a pretty long break from the bike training and from the entire bike scene in general for a few months. Put in a couple 60mi rides and only a handfuls of runs since the 508 October. During these few months I been putting all of my "training time" into the business (Aircraft Repair Station) and with the all of the rain we've had, I've been ride sharing to get my laptop back and forth in a dry condition. We've been keeping fairly busy in this time of layoffs and other shops closing their doors. I'd like to think that we're still around due to the quality of work we put out and the fairness and superior customer service that we provide. We've been very fortunate to still maintain a stable work load. We're working on efficiency and quality control so we will continue stay ahead of the pack as jobs become more competitive. Looks like jobs are coming around and we've got some work lined up for a few months so it back to the bike for me......

SWARM! ride

2009-01-10T15:32:00.001-08:00

This morning we did a nice easy pace road ride. Max, Megan, Molly and Michael (who rode 30mi out from Pasadena on no sleep) had made it out. We met at 9am at Dockweiler Beach (Imperial/Vista del mar) and headed out to Palos Verdes. The weather was perfect, cool and crisp with an offshore breeze. We could see Catalina and Point Dume at the same time which is a rare and beautiful site. I want to have more of these rides as a group since we don't see eachother that often it was great to get together with the crew and enjoy outside. It' snowing in Chicago and they are trapped in their houses with13 inches of snow. Some people say we miss the season, but as long as it's the crappy ones it's all good with me! We rode about 45mi all in all and ate at El Segundo Whole Foods. I had a wonderful time so thanks to everyone who came out and we'll have to do it again. Michael's a maniac. I don't know if you decided to ride home or take the rail but you had 75mi logged at Whole Foods so pretty awesome!

Eye Wart Experiment

2008-12-28T12:52:00.001-08:00

So I've had this eye wart looking thingy for about a year. I've heared that it's a sun spot and that would make sense since I do 14hr rides on my bike and never wear sunglasses. So now I'm experimenting and today I put a zeolite drop in my eye. Zeolites have been known to pull out heavy metals and also help remove calcium deposits due to nanobacteria. We'll see how it goes!

Celebrate your dayz

2008-12-25T15:50:00.001-08:00

Woke up this morning to some relatively cold wet weather. My wife and I went to the Moms' house, ate some breakfast and were off to do some outdoor ice skating (AT THE BEACH.)
The weather had cleared when we arrived though the ice was flooded with water from previous rains. We were determined to give it a go anyway which resulted in having the place all to ourselves. After about 10 minutes the rain came to say hello again and shewed us off the ice. We got a "rain check" so we can come back next week (two times for the price of one). Then we were off to another gathering in Venice.
There we celebrated "Boxmas" with friends. Kites flew though cloud and skateboards sailed through puddles as the rain began to come down once more. Epic!
What a beautiful day. The heavy rains eventually stopped as the clouds began to clear. The sun came back out and reminded me why I live in Southern California!

Holiday Cheer

2008-12-23T19:46:00.001-08:00

Shop till you drop. Or pull the trigger, whatever happens first.

Abundance

2008-12-19T21:51:00.001-08:00

It's amazing what we have. The Whole Foods Market by my house has so many amazing food choices. Here we are at dinner eating root beer floats using "wild root" Kombucha, bananas, and Raw Vegan Ice Cream. WTF??? Amazing!

Furnace Creek 508 (Post-Race)

2008-10-11T18:45:00.000-07:00

This was my third attempt at this brutally awesome event. Being my second solo attempt, I was more prepared and had a better understanding of the course and my plan. To please the Ultra-Cycling Gods we grew mustaches for the event and held a sacred ceremony the night before hosted by veteran Morgan "Goat" Beeby. I love the 508, it is just so EPIC!

We start off at 7am as a group for the first 4mi then we make the turn up San Francisquito Canyon to start our first 15mi, 2500ft climb to the summit (Elev: 3740ft). I was hoping my cycle computer would start to work but it never did throughout the entire race. This year I started off slower up the canyon knowing I had 504 more mi to go.

We hit some pretty thick fog so I stopped at mi 24 (where we can start getting support from our crew) and threw on a rear tail light. Once I made the descent we were back in the sun. I remember looking at my watch around mile 30 and noticed it was only 9:45am and I thought of all the people still sleeping in. Alec made me a banana/orange smoothie at mile 44 at the start of the the 7mi, 1000ft Windmill Climb to 4500ft, otherwise it's been solely dates so far. TS#1 California City @ 11:14am (83.60mi) 4hrs 14min.

While my crew was leap frogging they "dropped" Goji Berries along the route for harvest next year. We had sandstorms and strong scary crosswinds through this stage. I was left with a dilemma, "Do I open my eyes and let the sand blast them or close them and risk getting blown off the road?" At mi 108 Alec made me a Celery/Coconut water to start the 7mi, 1500ft climb to Johannesburg (Elev: 3523ft). Then it was rolling climbs to an awesome descent into Trona. TS#2 Trona @ 2:29pm (153.78mi) 7hrs 29min.

I took a 15min nap here in Trona as planned. I was amazed that it took about 10min before my heart to calm down and the ringing in my ears from the "road noise" went away. So I ended up with a good 5min of "quality" rest. Matt came rolling through at 3:09pm just after I had hit the road again. This next section was the most exciting. First climbing 1000ft over the "Trona Bump" then through Panamint Valley with a fast tailwind before tackling the 13mi, 3800ft climb to Townes Pass (Elev: 4956ft). At mile 183 I roll by my crew having fun with the jump rope! That was the coolest thing I've ever seen!! I began to hit my brakes and stop to join them but thought twice and realized I would definitely fill up my shoes with rocks and sand so I kept riding. Now I'm wishing I had stopped for a round, oh well. Max mounted the lights on the bike early before the climb while I filled up with water and stretched a bit. I was ready for the climb and hammered right up it, I felt great!! Chris rolled up next to me and told me I had about two miles to the top and that Matt was right behind me. The food was really working for me and I made it to the top of Townes Pass before sunset which made me feel like a champ! I stopped to stretch, put on warm clothes for the 17mi, 5000ft descent and took some pictures. Note: you can see the lightning storm in the background behind the sign. The big descent was super fun until I hit the wall of headwind through Stovepipe which slowed me to what felt like 5mph the rest of the way to Furnace Creek. This was less fun and was one of my many mental challenges. TS#3 @ 8:42pm Furnace Creek (252.89mi) 13hr 42min

We had caught up to the lightning storm and light rain (which felt great in the 80deg temp). It was so surreal and I could smell the ozone in the air. I remember seeing the sign for Devil's Golf Course and the scene from Caddyshack and their round through the lightning popping into my head, weird. I continued on through Death Valley, through the water puddles and took my second 15min nap at 11pm just after passing Badwater (Elev: -282ft). I began the 5mi, 1000ft climb to Jubilee Pass (Elev: 1285) and shortly after starting the 9.5mi, 2300ft climb to Salsberry Pass (Elev: 3315ft)the teams began to pass at around mile 300. Needless to say these climbs kicked my ass, they are long, dark, and just when you think you see the top, another turn with more climbing. Huge mental challenges on these babies!! The descent had a little headwind so I just stayed loose on the descent and didn't even have to hit the brakes for the turns. I rolled in through Shoshone and after a few circles I finally found the time keeper and checked in, though the time was never recorded for some reason. TS#4 Shoshone @ 3:14am (326.39mi) 20hrs 14min (un-official)

Hwy 127 to Baker, though fairly flat after Ibex Pass (Elev: 2090ft), caused some real mental anguish for me. This road is a false flat with a slight headwind and it went on FOREVER!!! I was alert and not super tired and I think this is where Jenny made her comment, "You sure are complainy this time, must be because you're not so out of it this year." I just felt like I should be going faster because I felt great but the legs weren't cooperating and that was mentally crushing. But I got through it! Here I took my third 15min nap just before sunrise. Sipping on Alec's yummy smoothies while watching the sunrise over Shadow Mountain helped tremendously. TS#5 Baker @ 7:22am (382.62mi) 24hrs 22mi

Once the sun came up I was feeling recharged again as I rode away from Baker into the Mojave National Preserve and began the 2500ft gradual climb over 20mi to the summit (Elev: 3600ft). This took a few hrs but I just took my time and cruised along on the beat up "ass killer" roads while showing caution to scorpions, snakes, railroad tracks, cattle guards and remembering to drink enough water. TS#6 Kelso @ 10:11am (417.55mi) 27hr 11mi

Now it's starting to heat up just in time for a slightly steeper 12mi, 2000ft climb to Granite Pass (Elev: 4024ft). Alec kept me on track with food and water so I was feeling alright! My lovely wife was there to spray me down with ice water to keep me cool. It's amazing how well that works. TS#7 Almost Amboy @ 12:21pm (451.30mi) 29hr 21min

Into the final stage, and I'm ready to finish! I can almost see the finish, or I wish I could. One more 10mi, 1500ft climb to Sheephole Summit (Elev: 2368ft). I was trying to figure out a final finishing time, Max was thinking 33:45 but I was figuring 34hrs so to beat that I climbed much of Sheephole Summit standing so I could knock off a few minutes to get me into the 33hr range. The descent was super fast and it pumped me up for the final gradual climb to the finish. I finished strong and looking way better than last year. But after 10min I was asleep in the van. My splits are listed here. TS#8 Twenty Nine Palms "Finish" @ 4:25pm (509.58mi) 33hrs 25min 35sec

I was asleep and missed Megan and the girls cross the finish line at 32:28 but was glad to be awake in time to watch Matt come through the finish at 37:20. He was looking a little beat up but tough as nails and was super funny as always. A tour of the BEST roads in the desert. What the hell were we thinking? So next year....

508

2008-10-03T09:02:00.000-07:00

Once again the Furnace Creek 508 is here. I'm really excited as always! Especially since more SWARM! members have signed up this year. If your familiar with this event you'll know that riders don't race under their names, they race under a an animal totem to represent themselves. I've signed up solo racing once again as the "Emperor Moth" along Matt Ruscigno as "Desert Locust". Megan Dean is riding on an all women's fixed gear team (On frames she built herself!!) racing as "Blue Footed Booby". I feel prepared but am anxious to get started already. This event offers no support, all support must come with the rider and the crew they select to bring along. I have the best crew ever just as last year; my wife Jenny Davidson, my brother-in-law Alec Schwarz, & friend Max Lucas and I trust them 100% with whatever they recommend, they know me so well and work extremely hard to see me to the end of this EPIC event. I can't thank them enough.

"This 508 mile bicycle race is revered the world over for its epic mountain climbs, stark desert scenery, desolate roads, and its reputation as one of the toughest but most gratifying endurance challenges available, bar none. Total elevation gain: 35,000'." -508 Website

Pre-Race Thoughts:

-Have I trained enough? I've changed my training strategy from last year where I haven't done super long distance 300mi+ but have kept the intensity up and kept the distance at around 100mi. I have put in 3 double centuries this year and my longest was 260mi. My goal this year is to beat my time of 36hrs from last year.

-Is my nutrition plan perfect? As a raw vegan I've decided to consume mostly fruit for fuel on bananas, raisins, and dates and have seriously considered doing the entire race on bananas 3/hr which would be roughly 300cal/hr. This fruit is the perfect fuel being 90%+ carbs, it's like rocket fuel! These foods have worked great in training but since this ride is supported Alec will be making smoothies and other delicious treats for me!

Today we drive up to Santa Clarita to check-in and prepare for tomorrow morning when the riders and crew start on the 508mi adventure. It'll be tough but fun for the teams and riders but may be even more fun for the people at home since the webcast will be updated throughout the race as it unfolds (There's even a webcam this year). Click here to check out the webcast. Also to get individual rider splits click on their animal totems listed above. Wish us luck and we'll let you know how it goes!

Vineman

2008-08-06T20:55:00.000-07:00

Months ago my friend Matt and I signed up for this triathlon. And after months of preparation, the time to complete my first full iron distance triathlon had finally arrived. I had been very nervous weeks and days before. "Have I trained enough? Have I trained too much? I hope I'm ready for the marathon run after the swim and the bike" Two weeks before in my nervousness, I spent my Friday night running home from work and finished a 22mi (3:26) maxing my Heart Rate out at 89% at times. I knew this was a bad idea but that's what inspired me to do it in the first place. It recked me pretty good and started some pain in my right knee, so I didn't do much the following week but a little swim and regular commute to work. But, when it came down to it, the night before I was feeling pretty good, though as usual I hadn't slept and rested as much as I had planned on weeks before. As usual, I tinkered with my bike in the hotel room and ended up with only 4hrs sleep. And as usual, in the morning I felt ready to crush it!! In the morning I ate 1 banana, then my wife and I headed off to pick up Matt. I realize that I have forgotten my 2nd water bottle so I found a super nice guy that let me have one of his! I dropped off my "special needs" bag with 13 bananas, 4coconut waters, & a bag of raisins to be picked up at mi 60 on the bike. Of course I got comments, "Wow man, are you having a picnic?" We got our race numbers inked on, more comments, "I can tell you guys are going to have a lot of fun" and my biological age framed in a Bike Love Heart on my left calf to match Matt's.

The SWIM
A 2.4 mile loop around the Russian River. Water temp was warm like 73deg so I wore only my trishorts. Matt and I hung out a while and with two minutes to the start I left him and decided to head down to the water. The gun went off as soon as I got to the start line. Perfect timing, off to a good start!! I took it easy knowing there was a lot more to come and focused on keeping my stroke long and efficient rather than keeping with the front pack. We made the first turn and noticed I was 40yds behind the leader, so I slowed down a bit thinking I was doing well and could use the energy later. As we looped our way back around to the start/finish I thought I was almost done but soon realized I was wrong when the pack in front kept going and after seeing only 27min on my watch it (it could be possible they didn't know where they were going) I figured out this was a 2 lapper.

The BIKE
Into the transition area and on with the helmet, jersey (with a little trouble being wet and having raisins pouring out of the pockets), camelback (yes full of bananas), socks and shoes and I'm out in 4:41. I was feeling awesome now finally on the bike and in nice pace. I decided to start my picnic early and began eating right away 4 bananas, a handful of dates, & some coconut water. I also began to pee really early too so I had to stop a couple times. I was beautiful though the vineyards and there were some rolling hills, some short an steep to deal with. I thought "Shift or not? Oh well I guess I'm already halfway up it anyway" I hit mile 35 for another pee break (damn). Oh well better to be hydrated I guess. As I pedal away SNAP, there goes my chain! I snapped it and now it's dragging along. Shit! I ALWAYS carry my chain break tool, except now of course. So I hang out and have my picnic, watch everyone pass by, drink all my water, put on sunscreen, and pee some more! No support on this tri so I'm pretty screwed. "Got a chain break?" I asked so many people and so many "No sorry, shits that sucks" in return. Wait here comes Matt, and he has a multi-tool with a chain-break for me. "You better stop if you see me on the side of the road" he says. So 40min later I'm back on the roll. I get a couple miles and there's a guy needing help with a mechanical "need help?" He says "yes." So I stop since so many have helped me how can I not? I gave him my patch kit (as I only had one tube) and a CO2 and I was back on the road. After feeling like a brevet so far and feeling like I'm out of the competition now it's starting to feel more like a race. After taking so many links out of my chain I'm now forced to hammer the hard gears since my chain was now too short for the bigger rings. With my hands now full of grease from the chain, I devour some "triflow" flavored raisins & dates on the way to mile 62 and pick up my "special needs" bag of bananas. Luckily there's a porta-potty because I think I was crowning! After 10 minutes I'm back on the bike. Hey there's the Organic Athlete (OA) crew out for a morning ride. I yell at them, they see me and cheer! A little while later "Go Vegan" chalked in at the top of one of the hill climbs. Motivation Baby! I yell "Yeah, go vegan" to the volunteers at the top and they look at me confused, not realizing until later that the OA crew wrote it with our names written below as well. I ride into the bike finish as Matt is starting the run, hopefully I'll catch him!

The RUN
Into T2 and hooray for another porta-potty (What the hell is going on with me? again?) I chug another coconut water (bad idea?) and start the running the flats and walking the steep hills to catch Matt. Some rolling hills on a 8.7mi out and back, a three lapper. My stomach was feeling crazy by mile 4 but I kept trying to catch Matt. I see him coming back 1mi before the turn around "I thought you'd catch me by now" he says. He doesn't realize that I've had to stop at every porta-potty on the way out. So I decide to let the stomach settle and stop eating and drinking anything, I start to feel better in 45min and pick up the pace into lap 2. Then my right knee starts crying at me. I thought "not now, I'm almost done" so I ignore it. I make it to mile 9 and it's screaming at me. So I start walking the flats too. By mile 11 I was limping, so I'm done!! I was thinking that 15miles of limping is no fun and it's been pretty awesome up till now. So I went back and hung out at the Aid Station since I was now eating and drinking again. I paced out and back several times trying to decide if I REALLY wanted to DNF or not, but then decided I had enough and started to walk it off the 2mi back to the finish and started stretching out to recover. Matt caught me on the decent and I told him I was DNF'n. He was looking like a champ and was killing it!

Matt finished in 12:21 and beat his goal time of 14hrs.

And while Matt was crushing it, I was done in 11hrs and was getting my massage

My Summary
I'm glad I was smart enough to stop my self from further knee problems since I'm great today. But, I was looking for a 13hr finish this year and now I'll have to sign up for next year and sub 12! I was happy with my swim time and bike time considering the chain issue and all of my pee stops. I learned that now on a raw diet I don't need as much water as I used to and that coconut water in a cardboard box isn't the best racing fuel. I'm just now realizing how much I learned from this race.

As always my wife Jenny was the best support ever by far and OA was very motivating with their support at the race complete with dinner and storytelling afterwords. Matt's fam is so nice were great company, we had an excellent time with you all! Thanks Guys!
RESULTS
Swim 00:57:42.7 T1 00:04:41.7 Bike 06:16:15.1 T2 00:05:49.1 Run

Devil's Punchbowl (4/26/2008)

2008-05-08T06:05:00.000-07:00

My last and only road race prior to today was Conquer the Canyons back in April 21st-22, 2007. Today was an attempt for me to see if I've improved at all since then and also to test out my new Specialized Tarmac frame which I just finished building up last night. Matt who was also racing decides to "Ride to the Race" knocking out a 60 miler up over Angeles Crest as a warm-up. After a very long drive to Pearblossom, we arrived just as Matt was rolling in and with 30min to the start. This was a 32mi race consisting of 2 laps of 16mi. During the race I was feeling pretty strong. In the past I typically get suckered into pulling the pack. This time I was trying to stay in the 3-4th position back. We hit the first hill and the group started to break up. Some tried to take off but I knew I'd catch them on a hill battle, which I did, as did several others by the top. As we started the descent a nice paceline formed up again. I kept having to hit the breaks so I moved up to the 1st position and pulled the group. No one ever rotated up, and last I looked a good size group was hanging on. I picked up the pace and started cranking the descent to get ready for the next turn, people were starting to drop, but I was still feeling strong so I kept it up. The second turn was now approaching and there were race volunteers directing traffic and riders, I was sure that we were making a right turn here but when I got close the volunteer waved me straight so I went straight on down the hill a ways. I turned around to look up the hill and saw NO ONE! I thought, "I missed the turn, I'm done"! I turned around and hammered back uphill and made the turn. Looking ahead at least a good mile, no one. Now facing headwinds I thought, "There is no way I can catch them now." I hammered anyway, passing a few stragglers, some from other categories. I passed one guy who said "let work to catch them" but I flew past him at 8mph. I was not going to slow down! Beginning the last climb the start I could see a group and I was coming up quick, it was the trail group from 4's from the wave before and I flew right by. Passing the start line I still could not see my group, they must have had a 4min lead on me, damn.
As I cross the start and begin lap 2, My wife yells "You're right on time" and I think "ha, ha so funny" but as I made the next turn I could see them up ahead on climb. "I can't believe it," I thought. I caught them before the top and here we going for the descent again. I'm don't miss the turn this time. Instead I get ready for a break away, and there it is out of the turn, three hang on as we gap the pack. We catch another up ahead and he hangs on. By the last turn there are only two of us left. He says "I don't care if I get second," I'm thinking neither do I, I can't believe I caught back up.

So I watch as he rides past for 1st.

Matt comes rolling in close to 30min later. I was super worried that he had crashed or something. But then knew he was OK when he came in and told me that he was bonking so hard that he stopped and was picking up used cliff shots and water bottles of the ground.

Results

Breathless Agony (5/3/08)

2008-05-03T01:47:00.000-07:00

This was my 2nd year completing this race. I wasn't in the best fitness here so it was planned to be a great training ride for me. The road up to Onyx Summit has some steep ups and downs through Barton Flats followed by a long endless climb to Onyx Summit. Then the fun part happens with the long ass descent. My friends crapped out of this one for one reason or another so I rolled solo to this one. Improved my time from last year but I blew up at the end trying to hang on to this guy Phil who ended up 6th. And what is this, Chris McAllister got 2nd with a time of 4:40. He's a fellow guard and I didn't know he was such a strong rider. Beat me by 48min? Nice!
17/375
5:28
Results

July 14th, 2007 (Track Racing)

2007-07-14T02:36:00.000-07:00

July 14th, 2007 (flat tire? Scratched. 6^{th Place})

(Pictures coming Soon!!)

Results

I wasn’t mentally prepared to race this day. I barely made it to the track, I was late to my first race, and I ended up scratching a race because I thought that my new wheelset had a flat. Still had fun though. Better luck next time!!

Grand Tour (300mi)

2007-06-23T02:11:00.000-07:00

June 23, 2007

Grand Tour Triple

http://www.lawheelmen.org/gt2007triple.htm

Summary:

19.5hrs total (15.38mph avg)

Nutrition: 1lb raisins, 1lb dried figs, ½ lb dried mango, ½ lb dried apricot, goji berries in my water bottle. Bananas, oranges, watermelon supplied at checkpoints. Lemon supplied by orchards along the route.

Highlights: Hit my 200mi mark at 12:25hrs (personal record)

-The Grand Tour Triple is the furthest ride I have done so far. I woke up at 2am, drank my power fruit smoothie, got my camelback and food together and rolled out of the garage by 3am. I rode to the start in Malibu from my home in El Segundo. My friend Alex and I were set on starting the ride by 5am. I got there at about 4:45am met up with Alex and we checked out at 5:15am. We were looking sharp in the new SWARM! (http://bikeswarm.org/) jerseys and were prepared to represent. Like any long ride I was up and down but I felt amazing for most of this ride. I rode with Alex until some speed racer came along and I couldn’t resist, so I chased him. I ended up pulling the guy for a while until my senses kicked in and I realized I still have 230mi left to go. Then I realized that the guy was doing the double. I ended up dropping him anyhow and continued on and met up with some other fellow who was just out riding along, he was on riding a Lighting complete with a bicycle bell. I rode with him for a while through Santa Paula all the way to the lunch stop. I forgot his name now but he knew about the Bicycle Kitchen (http://www.bicyclekitchen.com/) and the Bicycle Film Festival (http://bicyclefilmfestival.com/2007_site/index.php). I told him about Eat!Sleep?Bikes! (http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=111618101) and that it was playing there, he then took my picture and said he wanted to take a picture of a movie star, all in fun of course. But still weird!?? It was super hot so I devoured some watermelon and then headed off again. I had my IPOD on this ride so I listened to lectures by David Wolfe (http://www.davidwolfe.com/) and Peter Ragnar (http://www.roaringlionpublishing.com/Merchant2/about.php) in between the music. When I hit 200mi at 12hrs25min I realized that I had set a new personal best. I was super excited about that, and ended up finishing the ride at 12:45am in 19.5hrs. My goal was to ride home as well. So I ate a bunch of my food, stretched a bit and started my ride home along PCH. By this time I was barely able to stay awake, and found myself swerving all over the road on PCH. This was not the road to be falling asleep on especially since by now all the bars were letting out and I had already been passed several times by cars doing 50mph within an arms reach. It was a little scary, so I pulled off and tried to load up on some raisins to get a sugar rush so I could be more alert. Then I started to get cold. Being right near the water in Malibu my body decided to totally shut down. I couldn’t help but laugh at myself when I realized what was happening. So I thought, maybe I sleep a bit here at the bus stop. But then I started shivering, a lot, teeth chattering and everything, so I decided to call Jenny to come pick me up. After an hour of shaking she arrived. I loaded my bike on the racks and we were off, finally some sleep!! We make it ½ block, heard a loud thud and the car dies. Try to start the car again and the starter just spins. The engine had finally died on the old Honda and the timing chain had snapped when the engine seized. So now we call for a tow truck, I’m barely conscious by now, and so ready for sleep!! How much more could I take? I had the mindset that I was done when I called Jenny to pick me up. Finally we make it home several hours later after the tow truck driver decides to be a bro and drive us all the way home from Malibu without charging for the extra miles over our limit. That was one crazy adventure!!

Breathless Agony

2007-05-05T02:30:00.000-07:00

May 5, 2007

Breathless Agony

112 mi 12000ft of climbing

5:36 18^th out of 333

Breathless Agony Results

Details:
(More to Come!!)

RAW VEGAN

2007-04-20T04:50:00.000-07:00

April 2007
I have decided to became a Raw Food Vegan. After being vegan for many years I have realized that as far a health goes, it doesn't even come close to the benefits of eating raw. I've been back and forth with cooked food for a while, at most lasting an entire month exclusively raw. Each time I go back to cooked food I break out in an "induced fever" and get night sweats. It's totally crazy, but I've tested it many times to the point that it now causes me "pain" and is no more. I feel amazing without cooked foods so here we go into a new experiment! I feel as though I haven't even begun to see the real benefits!

Costa Rica

2007-02-15T03:50:00.000-08:00

Hey Everyone,

Jenny, Taja & I are having a great time here in Costa Rica. The temp is in the 80/90´s and the water is super warm too. Working on my Spanish has been exciting. We´ve been staying at this awesome 5-star hostel since we arrived and we have one more night then off to the beach in Quepos till Tues. This has been my first experience in hostels and so far it´s been better than excellent!!! We´ve met some really cool people from Norway, Mexico, Sweeden, and some locals. Food is super inexpensive and we´ve been feasting pretty well. So far we went white water rafting, saw a sloth (really cool), toured around on the bus Grey Line and Interbus (which was jammin´the Bob Marley), tested my spanish on some locals who were super nice, and now lounging by the pool at the hostel. We have free interweb access here at the hostel so I am going to check the surf for tomarrow.

Still looking for some local farmers markets and the coconut I see growing everywhere, it´s not cool to just climb them and take them as they are farmed and owned by people. The locals drive crazy here and the roads are only big enough for one car one way (sometimes) and lots of off-roading happens. Yes there are tons on bicycles and motorcycles who share the single lane with big rigs, busses and at some times cattle. Pretty awesome time so far.

We are hanging out till later when it cools off to hike up to the hot springs for a dip (can´t wait for that), one of the springs is 150deg, don´t think I´ll be getting in that one. Everyone is kick back here and it´s very peacfull. Everyone is very friendly and meets and greets on the street all the time. Hope you all are having the best time ever too!!!

LA Triathlon (September 10, 2006)

2006-09-10T04:11:00.000-07:00

Just getting home from the Triathlon today. Looks like I may have gotten 7th in my age group. Results aren't final until tomorrow but here is a link to the times, my bib number is 681. Also the link on the lower left will show a 30 sec clip of me finishing which should be within 48hrs.
I did this race completely RAW and shaved off 20min from last year!! Hope everyone is doing well.

Final Results (Update):
2:17:34, 7th in age, 46th overall
http://www.y-events.com/06laoly.htm
http://triathlons.accenture.com/LosAngeles/tracking/SelectAthlete.aspx

Bike Trip

2006-09-07T22:40:00.000-07:00

On Sunday a few friends decided to ride down to San Diego and take the train back. Eleven of us showed up and we all rode south and met up in Long Beach. This trip turned out to be quite costly as the Amtrak charges $37 for a ride back from union station so we decided to ride to oceanside and hop on the Metrolink for $10. Budge got a flat soon enough and I got to try out my new air pump. So awesome!!! Filled the tire in less than 1sec and to 135psi, crazy, I'm in love with this thing now. We stopped in Laguna to eat at a place called Taco Loco and WOW was it good.. mostly vegan options, and not too pricey for Laguna Beach. We rode to San Clemente where we parted with Meg and Mark who were on fixed. They weren't up for the sprint to Oceanside to pick up the last 4:30 train. We went our seperate ways and we rushed down to Oceanside and when we got there the train was just pulling in. Yes, we made it!! The three of us who were riding home went to get our tickets and the rest said goodbye and were off to San Diego for the weekend. We hopped on the train and realized it was going to SAn Bernadino. After the confusion we asked the Conductor were the LA train would be arriving but he was totally clueless and didn't know that there even was one. He looked in the schedule and confirmed that it should be here but had no idea where it was. So we waited, and waited, and waited, for an hour since the San Bernadino train was an hour late we figured ..... We tried calling the Metrolink office but it had closed for the weekend. Screwed we were. Then Mark called to check on us and we told him the story. He was so awesome and offered to rscue us. We were starving so we went off to find food while Mark started his 2hr trip south to come pick us up. Pizza is all we found so we ate!!! Mark rescued soon after and we made it home safe and tired. It was a great trip.

Training

2006-09-07T22:32:00.000-07:00

So today I accomplished a few more projects. At work I finished a couple of approvals for some avionics installs which has been killing me with the time that it leeches. It was a really hot day again as it has been all week. I didn't get up and go surfing this morning but it turned out to be flat anyway (nothing missed). I need to get back on the raw food though I have been loading up on carbs for the sake of the LA Triathlon this Sunday. My training has been off and on. I seem to get busy with other priorities and I venture away from my training schedule. I will do much better this year, however I know I could do much better, so we'll see. I know my running & biking has improved. I am laying in bed here sweating. I really need to lay off the cooked food!!

The Search for Food

2006-06-18T17:35:00.000-07:00

Woke up this morning and rode to PV with some friends. We are getting ready for the Grand Tour Double Century this Saturday. After I got home we went to the Santa Monica Farmer's market on Main St. This was a pretty cool and was the first time I had been there. Lots of organic produce and I did see a raw food booth. The weather was super hot so we decided to get our veggies home before they were all cooked. We got home, Jenny & I grabbed our bikes and rode to Playa del rey to Senior G's for some organic burritos. We were so hungry and it was like 3pm by this point I I had still not eaten yet after the 50mi ride this morning. By the time we got there it had closed early on account of Father's Day. Senor G (George) needs a day off too. So we were feeling pizza and off we go to Stuft in ES. Nope also closed. So we came home, ate, and wrapped up some Father's Day presents. Now the hang-out monster has got a hold on us and this is my Blog!

A&P Maintenance Technician

2006-01-31T04:31:00.000-08:00

Well, I finally did it. I went through and obtained my A&P (Airframe and Powerplant) certificate which now allows me to sign off aircarft maintenance performed. It's about time too. I've only grown up around the planes my entire life and now it's official. The certificate required a sign-off from our local FAA office that says I have enough experience to take the tests. Then I had to pass three written tests (General, Airframe, and Powerplant) with a 70% or better. Then after that I had to pass an Oral and Practical test (70% or better) which I just finished today and what a relief. I went into the Oral and Practical with the understanding that it was going to take about an hour (or less). Since for every one of our techs this was the case so they said. But nooooooooooo!! I was there for not one but 7hrs. 7!!!! I ended up fixing a couple of planes for them. It was fun but we have our own planes to work on, ya know??? Anyway, Bitchen!! I'm glad I went through with the whole process and I feel like I've made some accomplishment.

San Diego Bike Trip (December 10th 2005)

2005-12-17T04:23:00.000-08:00

4:40am- I hop on my bike and leave my house in El Segundo to begin the journey. I was off to San Diego to see my brother. I was planning on taking PCH most of the way and taking about 10-12 hrs. I figured I’d get there by 5pm. I left when it was still dark and the temperature was crisp and perfect for riding. I was charging the Gatorade a bit too much in the beginning and had to stop to pee a few times. My especially favorite stop was in Wilmington where I headed down the silent dark alley to wiz. It was so exciting. I was doing about one bottle of Gatorade per hour and one food bar per hour with the occasional Cliff Shot. Now I swear those Cliff Shots are the best thing ever!! I had never tried them before this trip but they work so awesome. I found myself forgetting to eat my bars and became a little fatigued but after I took a shot within 2 min I was off in a sprint again. I rolled into Long Beach I hopped on Ocean Ave. By this time the sun was just starting to come up. I was heading right into the sun so I had the perfect view of the sunrise. What a beautiful day it was, not a cloud in the sky and I could see Catalina across the channel. Why had I not made this trip earlier?? I stopped at Bolsa Chica to check the surf, pee, put some bars in my pockets and refill my Gatorade (I carried a gallon on me in my backpack and would stop to refill the two bottles on my bike). I would stop every two hours to reload. I was glad to see that I was not missing any surf, everyone was just floating out there enjoying the day. Onward to Laguna where I had fun charging the rolling hills. I didn’t get honked at the entire trip. A big plus!! I caught up to a morning ride in San Clemente and drafted them even pulled them for a while until Camp Pendleton where they turned left to go through the base and I turn right to hit the freeway!! And holy shit was that cool. The 5 FWY stretch went by so quick with the 80mph tail wind generated by the cars and big trucks. I took the 5 to Oceanside and then down to the bike path. I continued on to Carlsbad Blvd and then the climb up Torrey Pines and I was smoking fast down the backside into La Jolla. I made it to my brother’s house at 1:30pm. My computer read 7:55min, 15.5mph average speed, and 41mph max speed. It took me 9hrs, way faster than expected. This was the first time I have done a trip of this distance and I was surprised by how easy it actually was. I did end up taking then train home but next time I think I’ll ride back too. I can’t wait for the next trip. LA to San Francisco?

Vegan Thanksgiving

2005-11-24T04:27:00.000-08:00

I love being Vegan. Going Vegan was the best thing that I have done in my life so far. Vegan Thanksgivings are so cool, the food variety is totally insane!!
We went to Native Foods in Costa Mesa for our Thanksgiving feast. There we indulged in; the Famous Wellingtons with Shallot Mushroom Gravy, the Gorgeous Green Salad with Grilled Fennel and Pomagranate Balsamic dressing, Polenta Terrine with Butternut Squash and Pumpkin Seed Pesto, Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatos with Carmelized Leeks, Seared Green Beans & Shitake Mushroom Almondine, Chestnut Stuffing, Fred's Fabulous Cornbread, and Cranberry Orange Relish. The dessert which we ate first included; Warm Apple Cobbler with Almond Creme, Cheescake with Candied Pecans, and Pumpkin Pie with Ginger Creme. All of this was ALL YOU CAN EAT by the way!!!! Totally Stuft.
I am thankful for Tanya (owner of the best restaurant ever) and her bitchen crew for serving it up on this grossly misunderstood holiday. For me it's about sharing the land with others while expeting nothing in return. I will be eating the best food ever while enjoying the day with family. I'm off to party with the rest of the family. I hope they havn't fallen asleep already and have the energy to keep up!!