Cycling Illustrated

It’s Broken

May 23, 2013 by Sprint Finish Leave a Comment

It’s Broken

Jason Harrod

It’s Broken

A grip of my friends hit me up the other day to join them on a group mountain bike ride. I, of course, accepted. They said they would meet me at my pad in 30 minutes, so I headed out to the garage to ready my steed for the day’s adventure. A tam dirt loop was the plan, Rock Springs descent on the docket; my favorite fire road of all time. Now my mountain bike is a couple of years old. And while I do not abuse my equipment, I do certainly use it. And my mountain bike is a prime example.

I wiped down my chain and noticed that it was worn beyond healthy, decided it could handle one more ride. And upon inspecting my chainrings, I noticed a few teeth that were chipped or in one case even missing, decided it could handle one more ride. I pumped up my fork to the appropriate level, happy there was nothing wrong there. My rear shock … the same. I filled my water bottle and kitted up.

We hit the climb up Eldridge Grade and my finely tuned and kept equipment saw my chain wanting to jump into my spokes. Nice. Seriously time to tune that rig up. I dropped it down the cog one and settled in without any further hassle.

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Tam Loop by Jason Harrod

May 15, 2013 by Sprint Finish 1 Comment

Tam Loop

Jason Harrod

Tam Loop

I really do live in cycling Nirvana. There are so many options that it is really just plain silly: road or mountain, ‘cross or not, Tam or Tamarancho, West Marin or Sonoma county. I could go on forever but won’t. I thought since the kids racing in the Tour of California will be traipsing through my hood this week it would be a timely, well, time to pen a piece about one of my favorite road rides in the entire world. I call it the Tam loop because in essence one loops around and over the entirety that is Mount Tam.

So, like I mentioned last week, I am indeed back on the bike. Being back on the bike after a few weeks off means regaining lost form, losing gained fat pockets, suffering more where there was less suffering prior, and revisiting some of my favorite rides, rides I know like the back of my hand, to gauge my fitness and see how much work needs to be done. Enter Tam loop.

Saturday morning – 9 AM. The sun is up and there is a faint and gentle breeze. The thermometer reads 68 degrees and I can see it will be a beautiful day. I kit up and throw a leg over the road sled and head out to the sleepy, smoky little town of Fairfax. Up we go. Bolinas road. I climb past famed trailheads, golf courses, the entrance that leads to the infamous Repack downhill. I smile. Not a car in sight. As I crest the first climb and begin my descent to Alpine Dam, I can feel the temperature creeping higher, take a drink. Twists and turns and smiles galore, and before I know it I find myself on top of the dam. Time to fuel up for the next two climbs. Pay Day and a banana? Why not.

Up to Ridgecrest Drive. Two-point-one miles of redwood lined, twisty and scenic climbing. So sweet. The shade is welcomed. I can taste the fecund smells of foliage as I breathe deeply trying to find the second chamber of my lungs, that deep breath I possess when fitness is in the house. I cannot find it this day – maybe next time. I see the sign. I am now on Bolinas Ridge. Time to hit the Seven Sisters.

Wide open and hot the serpentine humps come at me one at a time – seven in all. I sweat and the horse flies rally together to get their pound of flesh. I hate horse flies, but they sure like me. I look to my right and check the surf at Stinson and Bolinas beaches. I can see the fog hanging right on the coastline, that cool coastal breath ringing the mountain like a frothy tutu. Ah, the top. The climbing is done and done. A drink. Descent.

Dropping Tam when you know the road is somewhat akin to slot car racing. Outside of the one sharp right hander that I nearly high-sided on and flew into oncoming traffic, I slithered down the mountain without mishap and wearing a certain kind of eating grin. I roll into Mill Valley and almost have to stop at the 2 AM club for a beer after such an excellent ride … but don’t. There are still some miles to cover to home, miles where I will contemplate my fitness and what I need to do to get to where I need to be.

Rides like that, rides that I know, rides that flow, rides that show … me exactly where I stand and what needs to be done will be in my future and are exactly the types of rides I need right now. And that ride, Tam Loop, showed me that there is a lot of room for improvement, improvement that will come with a few more rides and a few more Tam loops, but it sure was fun.

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Just About That Time of Year By Jason Harrod

May 7, 2013 by Sprint Finish Leave a Comment

Just About That Time of Year
By
Jason Harrod

Just About That Time of Year

Jason Harrod

The sun is shining, the weather warm and dry, and I can smell that aerosol perfumery that is sunscreen. Life is good in Norcal. As I sit her penning this fine mess of an article it has dawned on me that it’s just about that time of year to dust of the ‘cross bike, scrabble together an early season training program of sorts and get my body on track back to racing shape – if that’s what one can call it.

Luckily, I have kept the training program the manager from my old Team Wheelsmith days put together for me. Man, that cat was magic. He was the strongest rider, the strongest rider who spent fewer hours on the bike than anyone I knew or know, for that matter. I reiterate – a magician. The program is so simple that even though I have the old beer coaster he wrote it on in my possession, I really don’t need to look at it to remember the plant to a T. But, and there is always a but, I just finished writing it up and printed out three copies; one for my day planner, one for the refrigerator and one for the door to the bike cave, just so I have to think as little as possible. Now, I could divulge my program in full transparency but that seems a little over the top. What I will do is suggest the parameters in as vague a way as possible: there are 2 easy/off days, 2 speed work/interval days, 1 tempo day, 1 long smile and spin day, and 1 complete day of rest. Pretty simple, no? I agree. [Read more...]

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In the Time of Sickness and Avocados

April 26, 2013 by Sprint Finish Leave a Comment

In the Time of Sickness and Avocados

Jason Harrod

In the Time of Sickness and Avocados

I have been sick for a few days; really sick. The nasty kind of sick where the stuff coming out of me is the same consistency at both ends. Gross sick. I feel like hell. So sick I haven’t even been able to ride the bike, and I am the kind of dude that usually rides through the sickness, sweats out the nasty bugs. Not so with this illness. The silver lining in this mess, you may ask? If there is one. Well, all I can come up with is the fact that I have shed about 10lbs. And the timing is actually pretty good.

You see, I have embarked upon a new sort of diet, for me anyway, a “clean eating diet”, over the past 30 days. It is a sort of Paleo, hunter gatherer, themed, high protein, nut and berry kind of thingy. I have been eating healthy fats like avocados, walnuts, olive oil, and in doing so have witnessed my body composition change dramatically. I am not a skinny kid to begin with. I am no ectomorph. I am more of a mesomorph. On a ride last week I mentioned that I needed to drop about 10lbs. and the cat next to asked what I weighed. He was surprised to hear that my 5’10” frame was carrying 180lbs. He thought I looked more like 165 lbs., which happens to be about as low as I can go and remain healthy and strong. So it caught me off guard a bit that this diet has seen me go up in weight, instead of down. Don’t get me wrong, I am not getting fat, just gaining weight in places I usually don’t; a whole body rounding type of gain. This sickness, though, has allowed me to shed the needed ten and, I am hoping, none of the recent strength gains that have come with the new way of eating. In addition to the weight loss, I did sleep a total of 21 hours yesterday, so I have that going for me which is nice. Rest is a good thing even if it is mandated by a sickness of body.

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Join a Local Club

March 19, 2013 by Sprint Finish Leave a Comment

Join a Local Club

Jason Harrod

Join a Local Club

I am a sort of soul rider. A solo rider. A lone wolf, as it were. This fact is not truly by choice. I enjoy riding with others. In fact, sometimes I long for a voice other than the ones rattling around in my head. I have people I ride with but my work schedule is such that my free time to ride is in smack dab in the middle of the afternoon when 99.99% of the masses are still at work. Yes, I get up very early, dark early, and I am home from my place of employ when the sun is still high in the sky. In fact, I usually beat my kids home from school. But as I am sure you can imagine there are not a lot of people around to ride at 2:00 in the afternoon. The racer contingency has already been out – hopefully. Joe and Jane 9-to-5er are likely staring out of their office window wishing they were me. And I am kitting up and sliding out the door for a solo sojourn. Now don’t get me wrong. I love a good solo ride, too. No one shows up late. Or has to stop and pee every 10 minutes. There are no curfews other than my own. And there are only the rides I want to do. But, seriously, sometimes a little company is a blessing. So I joined a cycling club. Marin Velo Club to be exact.

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Cross Pollination

March 6, 2013 by Sprint Finish Leave a Comment

Cross Pollination

Jason Harrod

I don’t know about you but I am a friggin’ magnet for honey bees. They find me like I have some kind of StingMePlease GPS implanted in my body … or maybe it is something I emit when I perspire, a bee pheromone so to speak. Whichever the cause, the effect is a painful one. In all honesty I get stung about 20 times a year. I just guess it is a good thing I am not allergic; if something good can be gleaned from getting stung a gazillion times.

Last week in NorCal we were blessed with some Spring time weather: sunny, 70’s, a slight breeze. I took full advantage of said sunshine, and used a couple of my vacation days, to put in a mini training camp of my own. Let’s call it ‘Old Fat Guy Who Thinks He Can Ride’ camp. Whatever the inspiration and motivation, I did get five solid days of 50 plus mile road rides in, it felt good to be that kind of tired. Back to the honey bees.

So there I was J.R.A. – just riding along – and whack. One of those drones gets sucked right into a helmet vent. How do I know? Trust me, I am a seasoned veteran. I am that guy you see out on the road, cruising along, who all of a sudden locks up his rear brakes, skids to a stop, starts waving his hands about him like a airport traffic guy or some sort of deranged Ninja fighting invisible foe, rips off his helmet and starts frantically trying to get what appear to be a million imaginary bugs out of his hair. Yes, that is me. That is my M.O. Having looked like a Neanderthal on more than 10 occasions from taking a honey bee to the head, rear end first, I now try to avoid getting stung at all cost. So there I was J.R.A. – just riding along – and whack. And I’m flapping and freaking and ripping off my glasses and helmet all for … false alarm. Dang cricket. And back to spinning. I mean this now, not two minutes later … whack. Right in the vent, and this time I can hear the buzzing, almost feel that dudes little fuzzy feet on my bald spot and then, BAM. Stung right on the top of the head. The swelling is immediate. I can feel the chinstrap on my helmet tighten and constrict around my throat as the swelling on the top of my head acts like a hydraulic jack, quickly rising and lifting my helmet off my head. I remove my lid and feel around for the stinger. All clean. I rub the wound and the pain itches like crazy. Oh well, back to the ride. I near the first of many climbs and unzip my jersey to allow cooling, the breeze to ruffle the bear-like fur of my chest and … BAM. Another one of those suckers slides right into my jersey opening and around the back and WHACK – second sting in five minutes. Dang it.

Now most rational people might have turned around and gone home at this point. Not me. I like the ride too much. These bees are a problem for me … for sure. I decided to employ science to determine the reason I am so attractive to the Apis mellifera. And honestly, I have nothing. Well, not nothing, but nothing scientific. The reason these little critters adore me so can be only of two reasons. They either love my navy, yellow and white kit … or they love the way I stink.

More of his columns here:

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Inspiration

February 27, 2013 by Sprint Finish Leave a Comment

Inspiration

Jason Harrod

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Secret Squirrel Singletrack

February 14, 2013 by Sprint Finish Leave a Comment

Secret Squirrel Singletrack

By Jason Harrod

Have you even been treated to one of those special rides? You know, that one ride where you hesitate to take any one else on for fear of ruining the secret. The one where the trailhead might be just a touch obscured and you find yourself nervously checking over your shoulder before you punch through brush or branch and onto that sweet piece of awesomeness that you are sure only you, and the person who showed it to you, know about. I have. And I am not telling, telling where it is. But I will tell you about the ride.

This sweet section of West Marin singletrack is really not all that secret – it only feels that way. Why? Well, getting there is a good journey. And despite the fact that it really is not all that far ‘out there’, it is located in a, well, weird spot. But getting there is part of the fun. I love destination singletrack. It pleases me to rip dirt to rip dirt, if you catch my drift, and there is plenty of dirt on the way to this sweet piece of trail.

I was lucky enough to have a good friend and fairly frequent riding companion show me this trail. For him, there was no secrecy, no magic, just two dudes riding some wicked singletrack. I am not that gracious. Sure, I have shared it with the core group of cats I ride with, of course, but there is no way I will just show it to anyone. What I will do is describe the ride and let you try to figure it out.

I already told you it’s in West Marin. The route from my abode to the north takes me over hill and dale south by south west. I travel dirt through TL/Sleepy Hollow Divide, gravelly and steep little fire roads. Then into the sleepy town of Fairfax. From here I will get more vague, but suffice it to say the next piece of dirt has a sign that may be one of the coolest signs ever and reads “Bicycles Must Stay on Singletrack”. Cool, no? And from there we drop and then climb to another ridge where some seriously famous dudes ran some seriously famous rac. Then climb some more, just like in the picture above. And you are done. Time to start rock-hopping down the rock strewn fire road to the branch and make a right. The trail is there, on the left, off the main fire road and obscured by fern and bramble. It snakes around root and rock and quickly cuts back across the main road and back into the flora. This is where it gets real; real rocky, the stationary kind, and snakes and rolls and drops and flows for a good 2 miles. Two miles of some of the most challenging and thrilling singletrack I have ever ridden. Arms sore from pumping the bumps. Legs cut and scratched from the bush. Eyes watery with delight. Teeth full of bugs from smiling the entire way. Spider webs clinging to the body and kit because this is a road less traveled … and I would like to keep it that way.

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Bags, Boxes and Bottles

February 7, 2013 by Sprint Finish Leave a Comment

Bags, Boxes and Bottles

Bj Jason Harrod

Wow. I just made through the madness that is my life surrounding the holidays and after. What is the ‘and after’, you ask? Birthday madness at my house; four of them in eight days. All done now, though, and it is high time to turn back to the bike. I am in dire need of shedding my winter coat so when spring arrives with its flourish, its flowers, its sunshiny days, I am ready to embrace the longer, warmer days and spend some quality time training in order to get fit enough to maybe, maybe, even race a crit or four this season. Maybe.

I am not a road guy by nature. In fact, I ride the road because of the simplicity of the bike, the fact that as soon as I roll off of my driveway the route begins and because it allows me to control the ride better. In a perfect world I would ride three days on, one day off, and two out of the six rides would be on the dirt. But I rarely get my way as there are the kids, their sports, school, wife, coaching, blah, blah, blah. Don’t get me wrong, I love it all and would not have it any other way … really. But, as I have mentioned a time or thrice, I am a list guy. Today I made my list, my list that outlines the way back to fitness. For me at least. Wanna hear it? Here it go.

First of all I try not to make my lists to specific, as my schedule can change from day to day, even hour to hour. For the ride portion of the list, I aim for a minimum of four days a week on the bike, a maximum of six, six being ideal. The rides themselves would ideally be one medium tempo, one long slow one, one short effort – likely on the dirt. Rinse and repeat. Then there is the diet. I am not a dieter but I do find that keeping it simple is the easiest thing for me. Basically, if it comes in a box, a bag, or a bottle I do my best to avoid it. That certainly does not mean I abstain, though I do try to keep those items as far from my mouth as possible. Water – drink lots of water or litz of izer as this one cat I know calls it. Sleep. I try to sleep as much as possible.

This is by no means a blueprint for fitness but knowing me, my habits, and my body I find that after two weeks of these types of behaviors I can see the difference in the mirror and feel the difference in the way my clothes hang. Well, I must be off to eat something that likely comes in its own wrapper, is a lean protein, or comes ready to eat from the mother earth. And let’s not forget to drink litz of izer.

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Peeve of the Week

January 23, 2013 by Brandon Leave a Comment

Peeve of the Week

by Jason Harrod

Lately I have been logging some base miles. Long and slow is the goal. And since my goal is mileage we can honestly say I am spending a decent amount of time on the bike as well. I truly enjoy this time of year as it allows an ample window to gain fitness as well as being social on the bike. And being social on the bike is part of being a cyclist.

Take this past weekend. At the Marin Velo Club annual party, graciously hosted by one of our sponsors, Lagunitas Brewery, I met a fellow club member that up until that point I had only known as a data point on Strava. We conversed over a few tasty pints of beer and decided, seeing as how we both had Monday off from work, that we would take the holiday the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. afforded us to ride together. We were to ride Mount Vision in the Pt. Reyes National seashore; a ride I had never done but heard was fantastic.

First, the ride: sweet rolling paved terrain through the redwoods, skirting sunny and grassy dairy land, we cruised smiling in the sun past Tomales Bay – it was simply an awesome rip out to the climb. The traffic was light but unwieldy (the peeve to come), and oncewe hit the Mount Vision climb I don’t think we saw a car until we crested that wicked little kicker, dropped down some downright delectable dirt singletrack, skittered across some gravel fire roads and bombed down Limantour Beach road. It was a stellar day, though as sometimes happens with the good- there can come some bad. And this ride simply reinforced … well … I am not sure exactly what, other than the fact that drivers stopped at intersections will almost always look to the right before they look to the left. If memory serves correct it happened at least a half dozen times and the aforementioned ride.

This chaps my hide. No matter which direction one aims to turn the most imminent danger will always be coming from the left first. Think about it. No, really. Take a minute if you have not noticed this phenomenon and ponder the absolute lameness this represents. I see it at least once a day, likely a handful of times.

We see a lot of things when out riding the bike. That’s part of why we ride. Right? We take in the scenery, get a look at stuff the average person may miss especially when travelling by car. I guess you could say we pay attention to what goes on around us while others simply pay attention to … well … I truly have no idea. Most of us drive. A lot of drivers are riders, too. It would make sense that those who drive legally must pass written and practical exams, right? Then why is it when stopped at a stop sign or yielding at a T-style intersection with the intention of making a left or right hand turn the driver always, and I mean always, looks to the right first. The right? Why on this green earth would a person look to the right before the left? This makes no sense to me. Death could occur by not looking to the left. The left posses the most imminent danger to the driver. Kills me; could kill them … or me … or you … by not looking left. I just don’t get it.

Now, I have mulled over a ton of different theories in my mind as to why this happens. They all suck. The only one that seems to hold any water at all is the right handed vs. left handed theory. You see, I am left handed. I have used myself as guinea pig for this experiment and I always look to the left first. The only problems with my data are my sample set is sort of small and I could be a touch biased.

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