Weekend summary

This would have been my biggest bike week so far this year. I would of liked to got more miles in per week since January but the weather has been tuff so far. This weekend was the first weekend I have been able to get to my favorite riding area, Santa Cruz. The weather stayed goog enough not to be to miserable. There were a few times I almost had to quit because it got too cold.

On Saturday I decided to head down to Lake San Antonio, where the Wildflower 1/2 Ironman is going to be on May 5th to train. I started with a chilly lake swim. 45 minutes straight. Figure it was about 2600 meters. Then got on the bike and headed to HWY 1 first before doing the 1/2 Ironman bike course. I like this route because there's hardly any traffic and the road is a lot better. You have to go through Fort Hunter Liggett to get there but no big deal. Just make sure you have your I.D. with you or you can't enter. This is one of the most scenic rides one can find in this part of California. So many wildflowers this time of year, and the smell from them is real nice. There was a lot of streams running this time because of all the rain, which was nice to see. About half way I stopped at the ponderosa camp ground to get some water. I also like this route because it has a lot of climbing, I love to climb. Too bad it was foggy, couldn't really see the ocean from the top of the climb. From the top you descent 2500 feet in 6 miles with a lot of tight turns. Took 15 minutes to go down. At the bottom there I camp ground where you can get more water. Although this time it tasted pretty bad and ended up having to dump it out, so beware. Well now for the fun part, heading back up. 6 miles of pure delight, gear grinding, sweat making hill climbing. The first part is real steep and then levels of some. After that I did the Wildflower course. In all, about 120 miles with close to 10,000 feet of climbing. After the bike ride I decided to tuff out a 50 minute run. I was toast after that. Took all I had to drive home. I popped some recover-ease on the way home. Man this stuff is great, and not just because they are my sponsor but I feel it works the way they say it does.

On Sunday was my first official ride in Santa Cruz this whole year. I park by my friend Miles Wadsworth's house and ride from there. He lives in Aptos on Soquel Drive. From there I headed up Hwy 1 to Bonny Doon Rd., left on Empire, right on Jamison Creek Rd, left on Hwy 235 big redwoods, left on Hwy 9 to Saratoga. Eat lunch then head back. Another day with lots of climbing. It was 120 miles with 10,000+ feet of climbing. Took 8 and 15 minutes with 25 minutes for lunch. I no longer have a bike computer unless I'm on the other road bike with the power tap pro. So I don't know exact miles just off what I remember when I did have a bike computer.

Not a bad weekend overall. I had 30+ hours training and close to 400 miles biking. Just another wicked weekend on the body.