El Cyclista

03.07.10

From The Saddle: La Flores and Malibu

The weather caught up with me on my last day of riding in LA. It had been too good to be true, 60 degrees and sunny everyday. I wanted to head up La Flores one last time. When you turn off PCH there is a nice steady one mile to get yourself settled in, and then you hit a tough 16% section. Once past this it is a great climb that had hardly any traffic on it. I came back down the same way to PCH and headed back towards Dume Point to shake the legs out. If you ever get tired of riding PCH (It is hard to believe this is the equivalent of our 9W – hardly seems fair) there is a nice little side road called Malibu Road, that although it doesn’t have a great surface, you will get an idea of how the other half live. When I got back into LA I spotted a great little gaggle of surfers floating around looking for a wave. All of this right on the doorstep of the city. Completely changed my opinion of LA, it is a very cool place to ride.

03.04.10

From The Saddle: The Agoura Hills

It just gets better and better. My first time riding in the Agoura Hills off PCH, and man it is some tough love riding. Beautiful Canyon roads, that get less traffic the more you go out along PCH. Today I headed up Encinal Road on the advice of my coach Chad and along Mulholland Hwy (probably the worst named road ever – because believe me this is no Highway) and back down Kanan Dume Road. The climb up Encinal is perfect, nice and steady and great views of the Pacific on the lower slopes. It averages out at about 5.5%, with a max of 8% and runs for about 6.5 miles if you go all the way up and over to the Malibu Country club. The legs are starting to feel a little cooked, but I am going to squeeze every ounce of life out of this sun before I go back to frigid NYC on Sunday. How can I go back to the Cyclops after this?

03.03.10

From The Saddle: PCH To Zuma Beach

From The Saddle: Griffith Park, LA

My first ride in LA. My first time in shorts outdoors in 2010. Felt good. I drove over from West Hollywood to the car park at the LA Zoo and set out on the loop recommended to me by friends in Griffith Park. This is a regular in the city loop, and despite the fact it was 7am and a little cold, there were still a few riders out. The loop is practically traffic free, and apart from some drain off dirt from the rain, the surface is pretty good. Just after the Travel Town museum there is a nice little climb, perfect for hill repeats. I did see something interesting. This being Oscar week I guess there are a few stars in town, and I did see a jogger out with her trainer being escorted by a police car. Only in LA.

01.30.10

Saturday At The Pain Cave

When the temperatures hit 20 degrees and you need to break the cabin fever of the home trainer, Endurance Werx in Midtown is a fine alternative. Chad has organized a nice and intimate training environment for you to burn and hurt. We did an over-under workout today that resembled what one rider said “looked like something Chad’s daughter would have drawn for the front of the refrigerator”. Personally I thought it looked more like the New York skyline out the window. It was hot, it hurt, but it felt good.

01.09.10

The Peyresourde Climb

I am using this time in between seasons to catch up on photography projects that I have been sitting on from last year. These shots were taken this summer on a week in the Pyrenees. We had really spotty weather which made it sometimes nervous to ride in (I found that out descending with Carbon rims in the wet for 17km), but it did make for great light to photograph in. The Peyresourde sits just outside of the spa town of Bagnéres De Luchon, nestled at the bottom of some of the best climbs in the Pyrenees, up the valley from Lourdes. Two cars past me all the way up. It is a really beautiful ride, with the best of french country markets at the end of it.

01.03.10

From The Saddle: A Frozen Hudson River

I have been in NYC ten years now, which means I have more or less ridden up the Hudson Valley for the same amount of time. No matter how many times you see the river, it always seems to offer up something different. From the hot sticky days of a New York summer to this, the frozen windswept depths of January. Truth be told these are not from the saddle, the 45mph gusts and 17 degree weather took care of that (yeah, yeah, I am a lightweight sunshine cyclist). Shot on the short hike out to Saugerties Lighthouse.

12.31.09

The Last Day of 2009

I would have braved the cold up here in the Catskills to get out for a ride, but the snow and ice? That would be ice covered roads with 2 inches of pow wow on top. Can’t walk on them, let alone ride. Another day on the trainer, but at least looking out at this made it a bit easier. Happy new year! and all the best for 2010. May you climb like a Contador and roll like a Cancellara.

11.29.09

From The Saddle: First Elcyclista Sunday Ride

Nice 4 hour ride today up to Piermont for our first proper outing in the new kit. Thanks to Wai, Paul and Patrick for coming along and special thanks to Wai for riding without a shell to show of the name, he is obviously harder than me. Also take note, Paul’s custom painted Bianchi with matching painted stem. Sweet color. I have also decided that there is an evil spirit somewhere around the junction on the way out of Piermont, that gets in your shorts and makes you all competitive on the way back. It seems to be impossible to ride “tranquilo” on 9W – but what can you do but join in.

11.27.09

From The Saddle: Reading, PA

From a pre-turkey Thanksgiving Day ride in Reading PA. Cold and overcast. The roads were quiet. Just me and the bike.