My Worship Revolution

Day 4

San Simeon to Lompoc
98.5 miles. Average speed: 14.5 mph.

Mapped Route

It’s now been a full week since this day.  It’s getting harder to remember, so I better catch up on all these posts soon!  And I do not understand at all how the elevation diagram works on Map My Ride.  But that’s a different story.  Here we go.

Another good title for this post could have been, “The day it really began to hurt.”  Leaving from San Simeon that morning, around 7:45 or 8, it was super foggy and cold out.  Each day we went out in 2 or 3 groups.  The slowest group would go first, followed a bit later by the faster group(s) so that by lunch we’d all be around the same place.  Being that it wasn’t really a race, I found at times it was nice to be one of the faster in the slow group and relax a little bit more at times.  This morning, however, I left with a middle group cause there was no way I was leaving at like 7 am.

I was wearing leg warmers, arm warmers, and some Oakley’s lent to me by Dan especially for foggy conditions.  I ended up having to take em off cause it was so foggy out that they just kept getting soaked and I couldn’t see a thing!  It didn’t take too long to get out of the fog though, maybe 45 minutes, and we were keeping a comfortable but steady pace for quite a while, maybe around 16-18 mph.  I felt pretty good when we left, but after a bit I started to recognize that all that climbing the day before took more out of me than I had realized.  My legs were starting to feel all that riding and I fell behind a bit a few times, but had a few guys hangin back with me as well.

We eventually ended up in Pismo Beach for lunch and my legs were kinda toast by then.  Lunch was on our own in Pismo, so I left the group and had sandwiches on the beach with Rachel and the kids.  Rachel said to me, “You don’t seem in quite as good of spirits as the last couple of days.”  Yeah.  I hurt.  I didn’t wanna take too long for lunch, knowing that I still had another 50 miles and our longest day ahead of me still.  It was a pretty foggy morning as we ate and I pushed Caleb on swings at the beach, but toward the end of lunch it cleared up, and I rolled out.

I checked out at our check out point in Oceano and I was the last of the “fast” group to leave, and the first group to leave that morning was still doing lunch.  I was about 15 minutes behind them, so I grabbed some Clif bars and Shot Blocs, refilled the water and Gatorade, and I was out!

It was a nice ride through Guadalupe where I kinda wished we had stopped for lunch because the Mexican food smelled amazing.  Just after Guadalupe I joined back up with highway 1 and there is a 8-10 mile stretch with virtually no shoulder and lots of big rigs.  So I tried to book it through this section.  While there, I managed to throw my chain for the fourth time that day.  So i knew I’d need to have Steve (our rocking SAG bike mechanic) take a look at my derailers and adjust em for me that evening or something.  More on that tomorrow.

I spent most of the afternoon in between groups, although I did pass one small group who ended up with one guy having 4 flats that afternoon, and then was passed by 2 others while I was refilling at a SAG vehicle.  I knew what was coming as the day ended.  At right around mile 90 on that pic above you’ll notice a big spike in elevation.  That is Harris Grade.  Harris Grade climbs about 600 ft. in 3 miles.  In comparison to Nasty Grade at Wildflower, not too bad.  Except this one comes after riding 90 miles, not to mention I was in better shape before Wildflower than I was for this.

Well, I saved a final goo for downing right before the grade and took it on.  It actually wasn’t horrible, but it was just a consistent uphill that seemed like it did not stop at all.  So I just went at it slow and steady.  At the top, there was some writing I noticed on the ground that said, “Over the hill club” and “See you in Lompoc!”  From there is was a long fast downhill into Lompoc.  This was the longest day I’d ever ridden.  Before day 3 actually, the longest was a 65 mile day while training for Wildflower.  As I came flying down the other side, I had a moment of being overwhelmed with a sense of accomplishment and recognition of what this week was gonna be for me.  The only thing I can really compare it to was a very similar feeling I had after making it over Nasty Grade at Wildflower.  Seiously, it is one of the most amazing feelings in the world and makes all of this so worth it.  Well, that feeling and the money being raised for the cause of course.

So to end the day, I eventually made it to the hotel where Rachel had already checked in.  Our favorite hotel of the entire ride for us I might add.  Best Western in Lompoc.  Highly recommend it.  It was good to know that what I was informed were the 2 hardest days of the ride were over, and the next day was our recovery day.  More on that day soon!

Day 4

San Simeon to Lompoc
98.5 miles. Average speed: 14.5 mph.

Mapped Route

It’s now been a full week since this day.  It’s getting harder to remember, so I better catch up on all these posts soon!  And I do not understand at all how the elevation diagram works on Map My Ride.  But that’s a different story.  Here we go.

Another good title for this post could have been, “The day it really began to hurt.”  Leaving from San Simeon that morning, around 7:45 or 8, it was super foggy and cold out.  Each day we went out in 2 or 3 groups.  The slowest group would go first, followed a bit later by the faster group(s) so that by lunch we’d all be around the same place.  Being that it wasn’t really a race, I found at times it was nice to be one of the faster in the slow group and relax a little bit more at times.  This morning, however, I left with a middle group cause there was no way I was leaving at like 7 am.

I was wearing leg warmers, arm warmers, and some Oakley’s lent to me by Dan especially for foggy conditions.  I ended up having to take em off cause it was so foggy out that they just kept getting soaked and I couldn’t see a thing!  It didn’t take too long to get out of the fog though, maybe 45 minutes, and we were keeping a comfortable but steady pace for quite a while, maybe around 16-18 mph.  I felt pretty good when we left, but after a bit I started to recognize that all that climbing the day before took more out of me than I had realized.  My legs were starting to feel all that riding and I fell behind a bit a few times, but had a few guys hangin back with me as well.

We eventually ended up in Pismo Beach for lunch and my legs were kinda toast by then.  Lunch was on our own in Pismo, so I left the group and had sandwiches on the beach with Rachel and the kids.  Rachel said to me, “You don’t seem in quite as good of spirits as the last couple of days.”  Yeah.  I hurt.  I didn’t wanna take too long for lunch, knowing that I still had another 50 miles and our longest day ahead of me still.  It was a pretty foggy morning as we ate and I pushed Caleb on swings at the beach, but toward the end of lunch it cleared up, and I rolled out.

I checked out at our check out point in Oceano and I was the last of the “fast” group to leave, and the first group to leave that morning was still doing lunch.  I was about 15 minutes behind them, so I grabbed some Clif bars and Shot Blocs, refilled the water and Gatorade, and I was out!

It was a nice ride through Guadalupe where I kinda wished we had stopped for lunch because the Mexican food smelled amazing.  Just after Guadalupe I joined back up with highway 1 and there is a 8-10 mile stretch with virtually no shoulder and lots of big rigs.  So I tried to book it through this section.  While there, I managed to throw my chain for the fourth time that day.  So i knew I’d need to have Steve (our rocking SAG bike mechanic) take a look at my derailers and adjust em for me that evening or something.  More on that tomorrow.

I spent most of the afternoon in between groups, although I did pass one small group who ended up with one guy having 4 flats that afternoon, and then was passed by 2 others while I was refilling at a SAG vehicle.  I knew what was coming as the day ended.  At right around mile 90 on that pic above you’ll notice a big spike in elevation.  That is Harris Grade.  Harris Grade climbs about 600 ft. in 3 miles.  In comparison to Nasty Grade at Wildflower, not too bad.  Except this one comes after riding 90 miles, not to mention I was in better shape before Wildflower than I was for this.

Well, I saved a final goo for downing right before the grade and took it on.  It actually wasn’t horrible, but it was just a consistent uphill that seemed like it did not stop at all.  So I just went at it slow and steady.  At the top, there was some writing I noticed on the ground that said, “Over the hill club” and “See you in Lompoc!”  From there is was a long fast downhill into Lompoc.  This was the longest day I’d ever ridden.  Before day 3 actually, the longest was a 65 mile day while training for Wildflower.  As I came flying down the other side, I had a moment of being overwhelmed with a sense of accomplishment and recognition of what this week was gonna be for me.  The only thing I can really compare it to was a very similar feeling I had after making it over Nasty Grade at Wildflower.  Seiously, it is one of the most amazing feelings in the world and makes all of this so worth it.  Well, that feeling and the money being raised for the cause of course.

So to end the day, I eventually made it to the hotel where Rachel had already checked in.  Our favorite hotel of the entire ride for us I might add.  Best Western in Lompoc.  Highly recommend it.  It was good to know that what I was informed were the 2 hardest days of the ride were over, and the next day was our recovery day.  More on that day soon!

Day 3

Big Sur to San Simeon
68.6 miles.  Average speed: 12.5 mph.

Mapped route

OK.  Time to catch up on the rest of the Coastal Race posts.

So I was warned ahead of time that this was the big climbing day.  You can see from the map that there were plenty of ups and downs, and I don’t think that even gives an accurate read.  In those first 50 miles we climbed almost 5000 ft.  Trust me, that’s a lot of uphill.

Even with all the uphill, this was by far my favorite day of the ride.  It started with a fairly long climb out of the area we were staying in.  From there it was lots of up and down, but it was all made bearable by the epic views along the way.  This stretch of the coast has by far some of the most beautiful scenery you’ll find.  Such as this view right here:

I learned from the day before and decided to keep up on the nutrition that morning with bananas, Clif bars, Cliff energy gels, goo, and plenty of hydration.  Good thing too since there was a bit of mis-communication.  We were told lunch would be at Ragged Point, and somehow, many if us were under the impression that was about 30 miles along.  There was a SAG wagon at Lucia lodge, about 25 miles in, where we stopped for some extra pick me ups for some final climbs into lunch.  We thought lunch would be about 7 miles ahead, so I took along a banana and some gel to get me there.  About 5 miles or so later I pass another SAG vehicle and ask how far to lunch.  9 miles.  What?!  I’m no math major but that sure seemed odd.  Luckily, I don’t think I had downed all my food yet, so I saved one for a bit later and kept on going.

I know these won’t all add up right, but I seem to remember about 6 or 7 miles later seeing a sign that read: Ragged Point – 12 miles.  OK, now I’m trying to figure out what the heck is going on.  Not too much later, another aid vehicle passes me, so I flag her down to get some more nutrition for the rest of the ride.  With some grub in my jersey and plenty of water and Gatorade to get me there now, I was much happier.

Lunch ended up being at about mile 52, but luckily the view kept me enjoying the day regardless of the changed expectation and all the climbing.  However, I must admit that when I hit the final hill at mile 47 I was starting to curse under my breath a bit.  (And for those at Life Group Game night, by curse, I of course mean the bad habit that witches have.)

I got to lunch kinda late and there was a group getting ready to leave pretty quick after I got there.  The burgers were cold anyway, and I was eatin all morning, so I stuch there for like 15 minutes to see someone come in behind me, then took off with the group.  Rachel saw me on the way to lunch, so she was there to greet me when I came in as well.  Then I was able to catch up with her and I hopped off the route for a few to check out the Elephant Seals just north of San Simeon along with the fam.

Caught up to the back of that group (except some others who came in a little later) and rode into the hotel for some time with the fam in the pool.  All around a great day!

Here’s some quick random video Rachel grabbed of me rolling down a hill that day.

Putting in miles on the bike give you lots of time to think.
This crossed my mind as I rode through Big Sur ann Lucia.

I've got 2 incredible boys, the most amazing wife on the face of the planet, and get to spend an entire week thinking about nothing all day except pedaling forward.
I get to do it with them along for the journey, and do it for a rockin cause, too.
Life is good.

I'm blessed.
How about you?
What are you aware of today that reminds you how blessed you are?

Two days officially down for the ride down the California coast.
And right now I’m chillin in our super sweet room at the Big Sur River Inn.
2 rooms.
Sweet front deck.
Looking right out at the river.

Here’s a really quick recap of the 2 days.

Day 1

Pescadero Beach to Watsonville
57.1 miles.  Average pace: 15.3 mph.

Here’s a rough view of the route:

Mapped Route

The group actually started in San Francisco that morning.  Since I’m taking the next 2 Sundays off, I needed to be at church, so I met them at the lunch spot instead.

It only took about 6 miles for me to almost die.
A jeep got cut off on a passing lane, it’s brakes locked up and it skid into the shoulder.  I just heard the squeal, smelled the rubber, and I swear felt the jeep pass right by my leg.
Other than that it was nice and uneventful.

I rode a good 17mph pace all the way into Santa Cruz.  For the most part, I already knew most of this route from riding it before.

The ride for that day ends in Santa Cruz at Upper Crust Pizza and everyone gets shuttled down to Watsonville.  I stopped for a quick slice, and since I missed the morning, figured I’d ride down to the hotel.  One guy, Paul, did that part with me.  He’s flew out from Virginia for the ride and has severe factor 9 hemophilia.

Had a nice ride down enjoying the coast.  Maybe some video and pics to come later.

Day 2

Watsonville to Big Sur
59.3 miles.  Average pace: 13.7 mph

Mapped Route

It was pretty chilly starting out in Watsonville this morning, so I had on the knickers I borrowed from Dan along with a base layer and my arm warmers.

I had ridden a version of this route the week before with Ryan, so I had a pretty good idea where it went, and it’s a nice scenic pretty easy route with some small rolling hills…until we head into lunch.  You’ll notice I added the elevation chart on the pic above.  See that big spike in grade right around mile 25?  Yeah, that’s to get us up and into Veterans Memorial Park.  It was a freaking beast!

And then of course there was some more climbing to get out of there after lunch.  One of the guys has a GPS computer on his bike that estimates the grade.  It had that at about a 15% grade.  So on the way into lunch, I was climbing with not much left in the tank and really needing some calories.  Then I got to climb after lunch with a bunch of pulled pork weighing me down.

Highway 1 from there down to Big Sur is pretty much amazing!  One of the things I’ve been looking forward to all along has been riding across the Bixby Bridge.

There’s one more solid hill that’s a real butt kicker on the way in, and then a few small ones to finish out the day.  Apparently it’s just prep for tomorrow which I understand it”s LOTS of climbing.

Rachel was able to grab a couple of pics of me on the way into Big Sur.
Here’s a nice shot of my behind.

And then of course coming the other direction.

So that’s it for now.
Just chillin at the hotel as a fam waitin to do dinner.
There’s some pretty cool chairs just sittin in the river to chill in.  A nice relaxing finish to a long day.  And the next 2 are even longer!

A quick thanks to all of you.
It's late.  So no fancy editing.
It is what it is.
Travis and Zach wanted to thank y'all personally.
So check it out…

Thanks again everybody.
Here we go!

Thanks a ton to everyone who’s helped get the word out about the Hemophilia California Coastal Race for Hemophilia!  As of our goal date last week, we surpassed the $3500 mark!

So, that being the case, it’s time to give away an iPhone!

Ed, Brandon, and I went to Woodstock’s for lunch today and Brandon pulled the name live via Livestream.  Here it is, and please forgive the horrible quality.  It was a bit jumpy broadcasting, but here is our winner…

Found out a few weeks ago that Zach has been granted a wish by the Make A Wish foundation!  So stoked to hear about that!  (And maybe slightly jealous.)  He met with them this past week to make his wish, and will find out for sure if it will work out in the next week.  I’d tell you what he wished for, but maybe I’ll keep you in suspense and after it’s confirmed he can share via iChat or somethin.

In other news, we are SUPER close to hitting our goal for the ride.
That being said, no need to stop there.  It still goes to the great cause so please feel free to give and encourage people to give toward the ride.  Every bit still helps!
So here’s the latest!

Only $100 to go!
And today’s the last day to meet that goal for the iPhone giveaway!
But I may add a couple days to keep Twittering before we give it away.
Either way, chances are looking good to give it away!

Help put it over the top over here.

Cycling shorts

Jerseys

Riding jacket

Leg/knee warmers

Tune-up

Full finger gloves

Bicycle Saddle

Body Glide

Rear bike light

Heart rate monitor

Spare tubes

Chain repair kit

Tire irons

Maintenance Kit

Patch kit

Chain lube/degreaser

Camelback

A new bike…(Hey, it’s a wish list…can’t hurt, right?)

Alright y’all…2 more days to reach my goal for the Hemophilia California Coastal Race 09.  If you don’t know what I’m talking about, then this is your first time looking at my blog for a while and you have totally ignored my Twitter and Facebook, cause it’s been all over my stuff.

I’m stoked to say that we’re almost there!  Here’s where it’s at…

So…tomorrow is the deadline for the iPhone Giveaway.
We have till tomorrow at midnight to make up less than $500.00 if we’re gonna give that gift card away.

You may also notice that there is now a list to your right of all of you who have partnered with me along with a link to the blog or Facebook of everyone I had a link for.  Almost 50 of you on there and it’s still growing!

Also there’s a list for ride sponsors.  Oakley is now sponsoring the ride, so I’m stoked to be getting hooked up with a killer price on a new pair of glasses.  I’m hoping to get 1 or 2 personal sponsors on there to publicize too.  Maybe a local bike shop to help with some gear or a tune up or something.  We’ll see.

So there ya have it!
For the several friends who said you were all waiting til the end to see how much extra I would need to push it over the edge…ummm…it’s pretty much the end.
And one of you is gonna have to go first. 

Thanks again everyone!
More fun news coming tomorrow about Zach!