Mount Agassiz - 9/2014
Reload page to see different photo.
All web site content except where otherwise noted: ©2024 Bill Bushnell
Background texture courtesy of Iridia's Backgrounds.
Please send comments or questions to the .
Bike Items for Sale - Here's a photo journal of bike parts that I'm trying to clear out of my workshop.
Shipping is $10 or (actual shipping charges + (optional) insurance charges + delivery confirmation fee), whichever is greater. I will try to find cheapest shipping option (e.g. USPS for US Domestic delivery) or will ship according to your carrier of preference.
Some of the parts are new, some are used. If you think my item pricing is off or you're buying multiple items, please make me an offer.
I am selling everything "as is". But, if you buy an item that is dead on arrival, damaged in shipment, or you believe you got a raw deal, please contact me as soon as possible so we can work out a solution. Given the time involved in selling these items I am not making a profit on this and am more interested in seeing components and parts I no longer use but that have remaining useful life to find a home with other bicycle enthusiasts, where they will be used instead of collecting dust in my workshop.
Contact me at the following . It will help if you include the links to photos of the items that interest you. All prices are in US Dollars.
Entire Blog - Display the entire Blog for all years. This is a large file!
| Bike Ridden: | Gold Rush |
|---|---|
| Distance: | 107 miles |
| Cumulative climbing: | 3500 feet |
Winter Solstice Century, December 15, 2001 - A group of us gathered at Christmas Hill Park in Gilroy for the Winter Solstice Century. We started with Pierre ?, Zach Kaplan, Bill Bushnell, Ron Bobb, and Bruce DeBell, but we eventually got split up. As I recall this was the fastest time under human power that I had finished the course, in 5:46.
| Bike Ridden: | Gold Rush |
|---|---|
| Distance: | 122.5 miles |
| Cumulative climbing: | 7000 feet |
| Total Time: | 8:59:00 |
| Riding Time: | 7:09:00 |
| Avg. Speed (moving): | 17.1 mph |
| Max. Speed: | 51.6 mph |
Knoxville Double Metric Century, September 29, 2001 - I was planning to ride with Ron Bobb who didn’t start this ride as he had managed to snag admission to Interbike in Las Vegas this weekend. For a variety of reasons (forecast heat, didn’t want to mess with lights, wanted to save hotel/meal fees, wanted to ride in daylight, and didn’t really want to ride 200 miles alone) I decided to ride the 200k route. That way I could sleep in my own bed, drive up early on Saturday morning, and start as late as reasonable so that I would still hit the early rest stops before they were closed, the later rest stops after they were open, and not arrive at the finish too early for dinner. Might as well get my 65-dollar’s worth.
After chatting briefly with Craig Robertson who was waiting to hook himself to the “express train tandem” that must have slipped quietly out of the station while I was in the restroom at the start area near the Peña Adobe along I-80 just south of Vacaville, CA, I left the start at 0640, stopped once at the top of Wooden Valley Road and CA-121 to peel some clothing, and again at the first rest stop near Yountville at 0850.
After a quick trip north through the valley where a significant event was running south on Silverado Trail—there seemed to be a SAG vehicle for each runner—the course turned up the quiet and relaxing Howell Mountain Road. A false summit of sorts was followed, somewhat annoyingly, by yet more climbing up White Cottage Road and then a burn-the-brakepads descent down the north side of Howell Mountain Road into Pope Valley.
At the Pope Valley Store I drew more than the usual number of stares from a group of cyclists clad in matching lime green event jerseys, the wording for which I wasn’t able to read as I rode by. At Pope Valley Cross Road I rode with Bonnie Faigeles for a short distance and then pushed on down Pope Canyon to the lunch stop shortly after 1100, taking care to avoid the broken glass strewn all around the parking area.
I lingered at lunch for just over a half-hour while munching on a sandwich and overhearing Rory McLeod, the event chair, advising straggling 200-milers to consider the 200k. When I talked with Bonnie earlier she hadn’t been sure if she wanted to ride the 200-mile option or not, but at the rest stop she decided to press northward on Knoxville Road. Some others intending to ride 200 miles had decided to cut their plans short. While the temperature was still a comfortable 85F, we were promised that it would become increasingly hot further up Knoxville Road as the road left the slight cooling influence of Lake Berryessa. I turned south on the 200k route as I had planned to do.
The next 16 miles saw an undulating road, with most downhills just fast enough to build up a head of steam to roll over the following uphill without having to shift to the small ring. I had been warned of boat trailer traffic, but most of what I saw was heading north on the road. Only one motorhome passed me going my direction. Perhaps as many motorcycles as automobiles were on the road that day. The only significant climb was the brief push up to the Turtle Rock Store and the junction with CA-128.
The Old Lakeside Store rest stop (#5) had been open only a short while when I arrived shortly before 1300. I lingered there for another half-hour or so chatting with Mike Aberg and others. The temperature was now 91F.
CA-128 east from rest stop #5 descends briefly then climbs gratuitously over a spur north-south ridge that terminates in the southern end of Lake Berryessa. The descent on the east side of this ridge saw my fastest speed of the day, though, having ridden the road only once before several years ago in this direction, I did use the brakes on a few of the corners.
I arrived at rest stop #6 behind the store at the corner of CA-128 and Pleasants Valley Rd. at 1420, just as the staff were setting up. I chatted again with the staff and a few other cyclists but didn’t take as much time here as at the previous two stops. The temperature was now 96F.
Pleasants Valley Road is, well, pleasant, or would have been had the temperature been a bit cooler. Having not ridden too much this summer in heat over 90F, I was starting to become uncomfortable with the heat even while I was popping Enduralyte capsules twice per hour. I was starting to feel quite pleased with myself for riding only 200k today. Yet, when I came upon the left turn onto Cantelowe Road I decided to throw myself one last challenge.
I almost regretted taking this option about 3/4 of the way to the top, but fortunately, the road entered some shade. The eastern downhill was not as spectacular as I had expected, and the road had been torn up and patched, poorly—a new sewer project, perhaps. We had been warned in the ride information sheet.
After one more short climb and a few miles of mostly flat riding, I found myself back at the start by 1540 where it was 94F. I washed my head, cleaned my face, ate one more energy bar since dinner hadn’t yet arrived, and took a nap for just over an hour before wandering back to the gazebo at the picnic area for dinner.
I was surprised by the well-mannered traffic compared to what I have experienced in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Overall it was a good ride with excellent support. I doff my helmet to those who rode the whole 200 miles.
| Bike Ridden: | Gold Rush |
|---|---|
| Distance: | 97 miles |
| Cumulative climbing: | 4000 feet |
San Francisco Grand Prix, September 9, 2001 - Ron Bobb and I rode up El Camino Real to San Francisco. It took us exactly two hours to get from my place at The Redwoods in Palo Alto to Mission and Beale (or as far as we could ride before the road closures). We rode starting at 7a and traffic was light.
After watching the race from various points along the course, we rode south on 3rd Street to Brisbane and then up San Bruno Mountain. We rode down into Daly City and climbed up to Skyline Blvd. and then headed home. It was a long day.
| Bike Ridden: | Gold Rush |
|---|---|
| Distance: | 83 miles |
| Cumulative climbing: | 8000 feet |
South Butano Fire Road, August 25, 2001 - Ron Bobb, Stella Hackell, Frank Paysen, and Bill Bushnell rode up to the top of China Grade, then down the South Butano Ridge Fire Road, returning up Alpine and down Alpine Road.
| Bike Ridden: | Gold Rush |
|---|---|
| Distance: | 102.7 miles |
| Cumulative climbing: | 5310 feet |
| Total Time: | 6:50:00 |
| Riding Time: | 5:56:54 |
| Avg. Speed (moving): | 17.3 mph |
| Max. Speed: | 48.6 mph |
Marin Century, August 5, 2001 - Zach and I arrived at the start just before 0600. Zach was riding his ICE micro trike, and I was riding a Gold Rush with white fairing and sock. We lollygagged at the start for a while after registering to say, “Hi.”, to several people who brought ‘bents or who have ‘bents but were riding uprights. We were on the road at 0634.
The course climbs over a few short hills in the suburbs of north San Rafael before heading west on Lucas Valley Road. Zach and I started together but I lost him somewhere along the relatively flat section just west of San Rafael. I was feeling good that day, feeling no hint of the ITB problems I have had on and off over the last couple of years. (I think I found the right combination of bike fit and ITB stretches). I decided to press on at a relatively hard pace of 80-85% of Max HR up the hill to the rock that marks the summit of Lucas Valley Road and wait for Zach further along the course. In spite of this effort, I was still being passed by more uprights than I was passing. Maybe these were all the “go fast” uprights, I thought.
The descent through the redwoods and into Nicasio Valley was swift and cool in the early morning air. A right turn onto Nicasio Valley Road took us through the town of Nicasio and on to the junction with Point Reyes-Petaluma Road. I stopped briefly for a call of nature, executed within the privacy of the sock and removed my long-sleeved top.
The climb up through the pass to the northeast between Nicasio Reservoir and the Marin Cheese Factory was shorter than I expected. As I neared the top I could see a small group of upright cyclists gaining on me. One of them was a tandem. From the expressions on their faces, that I could barely make out, I figured they were serious “go fast” cyclists. I decided I’d rather stay ahead on the descent, so I gave an extra burst of energy to get over the top a hundred yards or so ahead of them.
I managed to increase my lead on the descent, but they began closing the gap after we passed the Cheese Factory, nearly catching me at the left turn onto Wilson Hill Road (aka Hicks Valley Road) The first rest stop was located at a small school on the left about a half-mile ahead. I had plenty of water and food and didn’t need to get off the bike to stretch, so I decided to continue without stopping. So did the tandem team. As the road began the short climb, the tandem team passed and so did a couple of other uprights hanging onto the tandem like sea gulls off the rear of a fishing boat.
Wilson Hill Road descends briefly to a T junction with Marshall-Petaluma Road. We turned left and continued along a gradually descending road for the next several miles. Along this stretch I came upon the tandem team and another recumbent bike just ahead of the tandem. They had reduced their pace somewhat, so I passed. It was Derek on the Optima Baron. After I passed I noticed that Derek jumped on my tail. “Well, all right, let’s make him work for my draft,” I thought. So I kept the pace at my 80-85% mark for the next several miles. I knew the tandem would catch us again on the climb over the “Marshall Wall”, a fairly steep climb of about 1 mile followed by another 1/2 mile or so of less steep climb, but I didn’t want them to pass us on the rolling descents where I felt we had an aerodynamic advantage.
Shortly before the bottom of the climb Derek dropped off suddenly. Maybe he flatted. I thought briefly of going back to check, but then realized that he could probably handle such a minor mechanical problem.
Of course, everyone passed me on the climb up the Marshall Wall. While I was spinning up the hill in my winch gear, I could see Derek gaining on me as I neared the top, and he just about caught up to me at the top—or maybe he decided to hang back to let me lead on the descent. Derek told me later that he’s a cautious descender. I took the descent pretty much full out, braking lightly a few times in the middle and again more aggressively near the bottom. My max speed on the ride (48.6 mph), which would have been greater were it not for the thick fog and gusty headwinds, was on this section.
On the rolling hills on CA-1 north of Marshall I managed to catch most of the upright cyclists who passed me climbing the Marshall Wall, though I was unable to regain contact with the tandem team. The rollers on this section were great fun. Build up a head of steam on the downslopes and cruise over the crests of the following upslopes without having to shift into the small ring.
After passing through Tomales I turned left on Dillon Beach Road and began a short climb to Middle Road and then after several minor dips and climbs found myself in Valley Ford at about 0925. I decided to get off the bike and walk around a bit just to shake the lactic acid out of the muscles. I saw Derek arrive about 10 minutes later, and then the tandem team came in. They had apparently ridden some bonus miles when they missed a turn earlier on the course.
Northern Marin County is mostly grassy rolling hills. The few trees in this region are located in the narrow canyons and along the roadways and around buildings. Most of the climbs are less than 300 feet high and no more than a mile long. Today’s ride north to Valley Ford was into gusty headwinds giving me a relative speed advantage on the recumbent over the upright cyclists. The trip east with the wind would be faster but offer less of a relative speed advantage.
After resting for about 25 minutes I got back on the bike and enjoyed an easy spin in the mid 20 mph’s with the wind on the road from Valley Ford to Petaluma. I passed several groups along this section and was passed again for the last time that day by the serious tandem team. Up ahead I could get the occasional glimpse of Derek on the Baron, but my legs just didn’t feel like working to close the gap.
A right turn onto Tomales Road took us into the wind for a couple of miles before we turned left onto Chileno Valley Road. After a brief uphill on which I was passed by several upright cyclists and a couple of small groups, Chileno Valley Road began a series of rollers followed by sections of what seemed like flat sections. Whether by trick of the wind or some other illusion I could not tell whether I was climbing or descending while riding through this valley.
I could occasionally see Derek ahead, but I did not catch up to him until he stopped abruptly on a short hill. I asked him if he was O.K., and he said he was.
Chileno Valley Road into Petaluma offers another rolling descent that is great fun on the recumbent. I spent more time than I needed at the Petaluma rest stop in part because it was the nicest place to rest: green grass, refreshment, and plenty of shade.
After another 20 minutes I was back on the road heading southwest out of Petaluma on Point Reyes-Petaluma Road. The warm climb up Red Hill on this narrow road with frequent beach-bound traffic was the low point of the day. I was asked a couple times if I was hot in the sock. I said I was warm, but as long as there was a breeze, I wouldn’t overheat. One nice thing about the sock is that it helps keep the sun of my arms and legs. In fact the only skin directly exposed to the sun for any length of time while riding with the sock is the skin on the back of my neck, my nose and cheekbones, and the outside of my lower legs.
Derek and I climbed the last half of the grade together until my legs started to threaten cramps. When I backed off he passed but then stopped at the top. I continued without pause down the other side into Hicks Valley. I didn’t get that far as the course turned left on Novato Road.
After a short climb Novato Road descends fitfully into Novato. Again my legs complained each time I started up after a red light or stop. Now was the payback time for pushing the pace earlier in the day. I had been training recently with high intensity rides up to 80 miles in length, but now I was extending that distance. Still, I managed to stay below the full-on cramp threshold and after taking the grand tour of the Suburbs of Novato found myself back at the finish area at 1324, not quite seven hours after starting.
Overall it was a fun ride that pushed the limits of my conditioning.
| Bike Ridden: | Gold Rush |
|---|---|
| Distance: | 52 miles |
| Cumulative climbing: | 4200 feet |
San Gregorio, July 8, 2001 - Stella Hackell, John Serafin, and Bill Bushnell (and maybe Frank Paysen?) rode out to San Gregorio.
Loma Prieta Avenue, July 6, 2001 - Photos of Ron Bobb at the moment his bike had gone 100k miles at a nice viewspot on Loma Prieta Avenue.
Bolinas Ridge, July 1, 2001 - Bolinas Ridge lies opposite Point Reyes National Seashore, immediately east of the San Andreas Fault where the latter rises above sea level between Stinson Beach to the south and Tomales Bay to the north about 25 miles north of San Francisco, CA. The 11.3 miles of trail itself passes through the northern region of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area from the junction of Ridgecrest Rd. and Fairfax-Bolinas Rd. in the south to Sir Francis Drake Blvd. in the north. Surface conditions include a little of everything: steep up and down, rocky, rutted, rootbound, the occasional sections of deeper dust, and even a couple of rapidly drying mud bogs. Scenery includes sweeping vistas of Pt. Reyes and Tomales Bay to the northwest and deep, dark groves of redwoods.
I had last ridden this trail in October 1993 on my venerable 1991 Bridgestone RB-T with fat slick tires. From that experience I had recalled a long, scenic trail that was so bumpy on the descents that my gloved hands became uncomfortably warm from the friction of the gloves against the palm of my hand.
This past weekend I had the opportunity to ride this trail with a couple of friends. We began at the south end of the trail and rode north. This meant we would climb about 450 feet and descend about 1650 feet on the trail.
The trail started comfortably on a soft bed of pine needles. But soon we began a series of steep uphills followed by steep downhills on a rocky, rutted surface. Somehow I managed these sections without walking, but it required all of my low gears (range 14.7 to 45.5 inches). The middle section of trail rolled more pleasantly through redwood groves before breaking out into wide, sweeping meadows for the final three to four miles of descent, often bumpy, to the trail’s northern terminus.
Overall I found the Gold Rush handled this road at least as well as I can recall my Bridgestone having handled it. In fact, I’d have to say that I was far less fatigued on the Gold Rush due to the more comfortable seating position.
From this dirt road ride and many other similar dirt road rides I have done in the past two and a half years I have been riding my Gold Rush with slick road tires I have made several observations:
You will very quickly learn how to deal with momentary losses in traction. On paved roads a loss of traction in either front or rear wheels often preceeds a spill. On dirt a loss of traction is common and usually can be corrected.
The most effective way to regain lost traction while descending requires some preparation: When you are about to go over terrain that is likely to be slippery, start through it while applying some pressure to both front and rear brakes. When a wheel starts to lose traction, immediately release the brake of the wheel that has lost traction. This takes some practice as you must overcome your initial instinct to jam on the brakes when you feel you are losing control, and you must be quick enough to react to avoid reaching a lean angle of no return. On a Gold Rush, the required reaction time is slightly shorter than on an upright bike. When traction is regained, the brake can be applied again. Use of this technique is similar to the action of anti-lock brakes on automobiles.
When climbing the most common form of traction loss is rear wheel spin. When this happens, lean back in your seat. It helps to if you have your seat already leaned back. When riding on level or nearly level terrain, you can regain traction by a combination of steering, shifting your weight on the seat, and occasionally by putting a foot down. The latter should only be done when the surface is very loose and when moving slowly or the dreaded “leg suck” could occur.
Most of these techniques are best learned by practice and can be learned quickly. Eventually, they will become second nature.
The downside of taking a Gold Rush off the pavement:
You will have to come to a complete stop when you meet up with horseback riders. Those of us who ride a socked Easy Racer bike know that ordinary people have a hard enough time figuring out what we’re riding.
Horses have trouble figuring out what we are. We passed several groups of horseback riders on our trip down the trail. Each time we stopped and continued talking with the riders while the horses skittishly and nervously trotted by, keeping eyes, ears, and snouts in our direction all the while.
The Gold Rush, and, I assume the general Easy Racer design (including Tour Easy, and Ti-Rush) works surprisingly well off the pavement. I suggest that owners of these fine bikes should try taking them off-road once in a while especially if you live in an area where many interesting places are accessible by dirt road only.
My Gold Rush uses a non-stock 26” rear wheel on which I usually run a 1.4” Ritchey Tom Slick and a Primo Comet 406x37 in the front.
I can’t help but wonder how a Fold Rush with suspension would fare on dirt roads. Is the seatback support of the Fold-Rush strong enough to support the method in (1c) above? How would handling be affected by installing knobby tires front and rear? Unfortunately, my Gold Rush doesn’t have quite enough chainstay clearance for full knobbies. Perhaps Easy Racers will recognize the off-road capabilities of its bikes and provide support for 26” rear wheels, wider tires, and off-road capable suspension, a design that gives away little in on-road performance but gains by being able to be ridden easily off-road, a design to appeal to “aging” Generation X’ers.
| Bike Ridden: | Gold Rush |
|---|---|
| Distance: | 55 miles |
| Cumulative climbing: | 5500 feet |
Return to Freedom, June 23, 2001 - I joined the Return to Freedom party at Easy Racers. We took a ride up Loma Prieta, then enjoyed the rest of the afternoon eating and talking about bikes.
David rides a RANS Vivo, June 16, 2001 - At my encouragement David Bushnell briefly considered buying a recumbent to ride. He enjoyed trying out a few bikes at Zach's shop, but in the end he decided it would be safer for him to stick with walking and hiking.
| Bike Ridden: | Gold Rush |
|---|---|
| Distance: | 123.3 miles |
| Cumulative climbing: | 10880 feet |
| Total Time: | 10:41:51 |
| Riding Time: | 9:06:50 |
| Avg. Speed (moving): | 13.6 mph |
| Max. Speed: | 56.5 mph |
Sequoia Century, June 3, 2001 - After a spring season of not enough long-distance riding I decided, perhaps foolishly, to sign up for the 200k Sequoia Century. I rode a highly modified version of it last year for the first time in many years and had a blast. This year the course was tougher and I was a few pounds heavier and in poorer condition. Still, I figured that it was only fair that if I had designed the route, I should have to ride it, too.
I started out from the VA Health Care System (not Hospital) at about 0615 with fellow cyclist, Ron Bobb, who came up from Watsonville to do the ride. The ride up Arastradero and through Portola Valley, Woodside, and north on Canada Road went quickly and without incident. The left turn from Sand Hill Road onto Whiskey Hill Road spoils all the momentum from the prior downhill. My preferred road is Mountain Home Road, but the City of Woodside apparently throws a fit whenever someone plans an organized ride on that road. At least Whiskey Hill was recently paved with nice, smooth asphalt.
A number of “go-fast” cyclists were already on the course. We were generally overtaken by them on the uphills and then leap-frogged them on the downhills.
The first climb up CA-92 is relatively short with a moderate grade. Only one short section of 50-100 yards long about halfway to the summit could be considered steep. I managed to average about 5.5-6 mph, which means that the climb took me a little over 20 minutes to complete. Ron, who was in better shape than I, arrived at the top about a minute ahead of me and waited.
Using CA-92 was borne partly of the idea that we could benefit from whatever support might be present on the roadway in the way of signs or police presence in connection with the AIDS ride that was to pass by a few hours later that day. We saw few signs, no police, and traffic was unexpectedly heavy for the hour of the day, 0730.
The descent into Half Moon Bay is initially thrilling. The recently repaved highway makes for a descent that can be done without braking, if one is daring and/or foolish. The J-wall in the center gives one somewhat more confidence knowing that a crushing death under an uphill-bound vehicle is less likely should my tires find a sudden dislike of the roadway. My speed maxed at 50.4 mph. The remainder of the ride into Half Moon Bay was quick, though less interesting, since I found it more difficult to maintain the speed of auto traffic without riding anaerobically. Ron takes the position that the “race” is never won on the downhills and rides descents conservatively.
Ron and I decided to save a bit of time by skipping the first rest stop on the course by turning left onto Main Street and stopping at Dutra (cement) Park for a short break.
At the southern end of Main Street a left turn brought us to the start of Higgins-Purissima Road. Higgins-Purissima passes by fields that when planted appear to be brussel sprouts. Then after a few false starts the road begins a relatively steep but short climb over a ridge into the Purissima Creek watershed.
On the climb we were overtaken by Laura Stern, whom I had last seen at one of the Low-Key hillclimbs a few years ago, and her riding partner. We overtook them again on the rolling descent to the coast on Purissima Creek Road. We would be seeing Laura and her riding partner several times again until the lunch stop in Bonny Doon.
At Verde Road the course makes a sharp turn to the left and rejoins the 100-mile course for a mile before jogging right then left onto CA-1. As we rode down the coast it became apparent that a roaring tailwind would be at our backs much of the way.
On Stage Road we were passed by a couple of cyclists, but surprisingly we saw few while on this road. Riding CA-1 is quicker, but Stage Road is less busy and quieter.
In Pescadero we stopped in front of the closed Archangeli market, refilled water, and stretched a little bit before continuing. Once back on the road we continued without stopping for other than calls of nature until the lunch stop, saving some time by not stopping at the Costanoa rest stop. Perhaps on another trip I’ll explore the gravel trail into the resort.
The trip south on CA-1 went quickly, highlighted by the long downhill to Scott Creek where Ron and I reached speeds of 56.7 and 56.5 mph. Laura and her riding partner weren’t far behind on this hill and may have broken 50mph. I forgot to ask her. The detour on Swanton Road gives a nice break from the traffic on CA-1 but misses this dramatic plunge.
At Bonny Doon Road the hour of reckoning was at hand. All of the swift downhills and tailwinds were past us. What now lay between us and home was lots of climbing, and, what I’ll admit from a planning perspective was as much a reprise of Mr. Bill’s Nightmare as I felt I could slip under the watchful eyes of the Sequoia Committee.
Ron and I started the climb at about 1100. I stopped briefly at the level section about halfway up from the coast to adjust my seat. Ron had also stopped, but just out of sight around the bend. We continued up through Bonny Doon at a relaxed pace, sometimes riding as slowly as 4 mph, past the entrance to the ranch hosting Karl Abbe’s workshop on Martin Road, and arrived at the official Bikeaholics-hosted lunch stop just before noon at the Bonny Doon School. A crowd of cyclists, some hungry, some still full of energy, and some appearing dazed were helping themselves to sandwich fixings while strains of Puccini punctuated by an operatic shriek emanated from a boombox in the background.
We saw most of the usual Bikeaholic suspects, Laura Stern again, looking fresh and ready to get back on the bike, and Doug O’Neill, another friend of mine, who had started about 45 minutes after us and was now only about 20 minutes behind us.
I was happy to get off the bike and walk around for a little while just to let my leg muscles “reset” themselves prior to continuing. Ron likes to refill his water, grab food, and get back on the bike. We compromised and stayed for about 25 minutes before starting out again. Before we left the lunch stop I asked Lisa Antonino to take a picture of us while we were still able to manage smiles.
The route continued up Pine Flat Road to Empire Grade Road, turned left and continued climbing gradually up over the false summit south of Alba Road before cresting the top of Ben Lomond Mountain in front of the California Youth Authority camp at about 2600 feet elevation. From here we descended quickly to the top of Jamison Creek Road and then dropped quickly down to CA-236 at the bottom.
We turned left at the bottom and continued up CA-236 and turned right onto China Grade Road. We stopped shortly before the narrow metal bridge that marks the beginning of the steepest climb of the day to take a quick break. I noticed at this time that my rear derailer wasn’t shifting properly and that no amount of adjustment would restore crisp shifting. I learned later that the cable had frayed, depositing tiny pieces of wire inside the mechanism. If the cable had broken I would not have been able to replace it without disassembling the shift lever as I did not carry the proper tools and would have had to ride home in 3 gears, which would have been doable but very slow since I use a reverse-spring derailer for which a cable failure allows use of only the largest rear cog.
The top of China Grade Road did not come too soon. We turned right without pause and continued on mostly climbing terrain on CA-236, where Doug O’Neill finally passed us, before beginning a long winding descent to Waterman Gap where a water stop had been established.
After filling up on water, we began the most tedious and noisy climb of the day, CA-9 between Waterman Gap and Saratoga Gap. I put in my earplugs. Ron had ridden on ahead by about a minute, but about halfway up the climb I saw him stopped. I rode by slowly asking if everything was O.K. He said, “Yeah.”, but he didn’t sound entirely happy. I continued at my plodding pace, expecting he’d catch up to me before the top. Just as I arrived at the Saratoga Gap rest stop I saw Doug O’Neill resuming the ride. Ron arrived a couple minutes later. He told me that he felt as if he was getting sick. The next day he ended up coming down with a bad cold, but for the rest of the ride he seemed to do O.K. I was feeling slightly nauseous, which I find is typical on rides of this length or longer when I keep a steady pace with minimal resting. Ron thinks it’s the HammerGel making me nauseous because I am usually taking it when my stomach won’t tolerate another Clif bar. I had eaten seven already that day.
The ride north on Skyline Blvd. and down Page Mill Road, went normally. I still haven’t worked up the nerve to take the uphill left bend after the rollercoaster downhill and whoop-de-doo just past the Montebello parking area without touching my brakes, but I can still break 50 mph at the bottom if the wind isn’t blowing uphill. We arrived back at the VA Health Care System just before 17:00, not particularly early but respectable under the circumstances.
The weather was perfect the entire day: no fog at the coast and moderate temperatures all around. I was sorry to miss the two rest stops in the morning at the coast, but the rest stop and on-course support I did use were excellent.
HPV Day at Hellyer Velodrome, May 20, 2001 - Photos from the HPV Day at Hellyer Park Velodrome.
| Bike Ridden: | Gold Rush |
|---|---|
| Distance: | 33 miles |
| Cumulative climbing: | 2800 feet |
Borel Hill, January 14, 2001 - Stella Hackell, Frank Paysen, and Bill Bushnell rode up to the top of Borel Hill.
All web site content except where otherwise noted: ©2024 Bill Bushnell
Background texture courtesy of Iridia's Backgrounds.
Please send comments or questions to the .