Heart Across America Day 1

6:58am, still asleep but random thoughts trickle through my mind in a dream: my wife's up so I can pull some more covers my way, it's cold, why did I have that third glass of wine last night, bike ride today ...BIKE RIDE TODAY!  Little adrenaline shot.  Okay, time to get up.

I'm skipping the ceremonial prologue from Intel headquarters to Palo Alto City Hall, so I've slept in unlike many other riders.  Nice.  I like to sleep.  Possibly more than your average person.  I scroll through a dozen emails from well-wishers while eating my Cheerios.  I've got one email from a friend asking about arterial ultrasounds.  How timely.  My wife leaves for the Oakland Half-Marathon.  She does half-marathons as often as I do half-centuries; okay, maybe not.  My Eddington number is 55 (and will be 56 tomorrow).

I had packed most everything already, but I pull it out and repack it.  I check my packing list and find things I had forgotten.  Now the pack weights 9.8 pounds.

My wife texts me from BART: rain in Castro Valley.  The forecast says a chance of rain, but the radar is clear.  Doesn't matter.  It's not raining on our parade, today.  The first time I met Sean Maloney, we did a ride up Old La Honda road and were heading to the coast when it started to rain - pouring rain.  I was shivering so badly down Hwy 84 that my front wheel was wobbling out of control.  I had to quit.  Sean didn't want to quit.  He said it's going to rain during the Heart Across America ride and he'll have to ride anyway.  He's tough.

Derek Campbell and I drove to Palo Alto and ride over to City Hall to meet up with the ride. The street was closed off and full of sponsors' booths. Sean was giving a speech whipping the crowd up We had a few photo ops and a "Let's Ride" cheer. Then they rolled out for a 3-mile, police-escorted ride to H-P headquarters ...I think. I stayed back to help Donna with a flat tire.

Donna's brother-in-law died in 2013 of a heart attack. Victoria Dupuy, his wife, runs "No More Broken Hearts" a partner on this ride. Donna was on a borrowed bike and hoping that the tube someone gave her would hold air. It wouldn't. She was okay, but it broke my heart that she couldn't ride.

I had volunteered to be "the sweeper" on the ride - stay behind the slowest riders and help anyone who needed it. That made this a much different experience than I had anticipated. Instead of a big group ride in the comfort of people I know well and have logged hundreds ( thousands) of miles with, I met strangers and somehow, again, became an ambassador for the Heart Across America group.

After Donna, I rode alone to H-P in time to see the first people leaving. I waited for the last stragglers, most of whom were turning back for home. I came across a couple on a tandem, fixing a flat so I stopped and chatted. They had seen our peloton roll by but couldn't read anything but "Heart" on their jerseys due to the speed. How appropriate. I spent twenty minutes with them talking to the wife while the husband changed the tube. They were from Ohio and I'm from Michigan ...small world.

When I turned on to Sand Hill Road, it started to sprinkle and I saw the first Hearts Across America rider coming down from Skyline. I was way behind but happily in no hurry.

Then I rolled up toward Old La Honda and saw a man and his son resting. They were fine and had the navigation on their iPhone. The son, maybe 12 years old, was riding a fixie. "Are you riding up the hill on that?", I asked. "I made it this far", he said. All right then, I guess he'll make it with that attitude! So I went on to Old La Honda by myself.

I stopped at the bridge to ponder all those who ride up this skinny, twisty road. For a moment, I thought, hey, I'm free to attack this hill ...but not today. I was trying to remember what Eric Heiden's address was - George Mount had told me (how's that for gratuitous name-dropping?). Steady tempo, easy, beautiful ride.  I passed a few people and tried to guess if they were on the ride with us. I found a pack of HAA jerseys, a couple guys and a guy about 10 years old maybe.

I rode with them to the top. Some guy from the Netherlands. The dad of the son taking him up Old La Honda for the first time - I was privileged to be a part of it. I picked up the pace so I could take a photo when the reached the mail boxes at the top. Cool.

Most of the people at the top were heading back down from there. But the guy from the Netherlands, Martin, seemed to want to continue without his friends. So we rode together. First through some twisty downhill section that connects to Hwy 84. It was slow enough to talk. Martin was on his fourth bike ride! He was inspired to ride by Sean's determination. See, Martin is Sean's neurologist. Small world. Then we (I) almost got taken out by a Fiat 500 screaming up the hill and cutting the apex when I was riding in the middle. I yelled "sorry" as if I was Canadian instead of the stream of expletives boiling underneath. Without missing a beat, Martin said "so you were saying how you met Sean..."

Once on the flatter roads I entered commuter mode, about 20 mph, pointing out road hazards, forgetting Martin was a relative rookie. Every time I looked he was right up behind me. Impressive!

Martin and I rolled into San Gregorio to find a dozen Heart Across America riders finishing a break. Perfect. From there on Martin is shepherded by the pack and I drift to the back again. I take a few photos to let some slower riders catch up. 

  

Steve, from Northern England

I spent time off and on again with Steve. He's from Northern England and looks to be in his seventies. Great guy. Friends of his will pick up the ride in Chicago. Of course he's been touched br heart disease - not himself but friends and relatives; some who died too soon. He's riding a classic old steel bike, 30 years old he said. We pulled into Davenport together.

After a beer or two with my commute buddies, people start to scatter. Some go home. Some go to Santa Cruz to other hotels. Those who stay adjourn to dinner. It's like warriors after battle, Thanksgiving with your crazy cousins, and old home week all rolled into one. 

For me, it was a day with a lot of solo riding mixed with strangers who now feel like friends. It was unbelievably beautiful, and diverse, and inspiring. It was a day to talk about the cause, since that's what we had in common.

The author, Dave and Rich - fraternity brothers

Before the Heart Across America Ride

We are in the final countdown to the start of Sean Maloney's "Heart Across America" ride.

I thought it was appropriate to look at the relevant history of such rides, and specifically at Day 1.

The very first documented ride across America was in 1884. Thomas Stevens (born not too far from Sean's birthplace in England) rode from San Francisco to Boston, 3,700 miles, in 103 and a half days (20 of which were stopped for weather) - 22 April 1884 through 4 August 1884. Of course, that was still the era of the Pony Express and covered wagons - no bike lanes, no GPS, no pavement. In fact, some sections were completely impassible on wheels so he had to walk. He traveled on rough wagon trails, railroad ways, canal towpaths and irregular public roads. He rode a black-enameled Columbia 50-inch 'Standard' penny-farthing with nickel-plated wheels, built by the Pope Manufacturing Company of Chicago. No carbon.

Thomas Stevens

Sean's route will be longer, but the roads will be better.

At the other end of the spectrum, there is an annual "Race Across America" (RAAM). The current record is 7:15:56 (yes, seven days) by Austrian Christoph Strasser, who averaged over 16mph on the 3,020 mile route from Oceanside, CA to Annapolis, MD.

Sean's route will be longer, but he'll get to sleep a bit more.

On Day 1 of the journey, following some local festivities, they will depart from Sean's current hometown of Palo Alto, CA and head over to the Pacific Ocean. The first climbing section is on Old La Honda Road. It's a popular ride for local cyclists. Perhaps that's an understatement. If you are aware of the cycling activity tracking software called Strava, well, Old La Honda Road is the #1 most popular segment in the entire world. And it has a gloried history of its own.

Old La Honda Road

It’s a public road, of course, not formally marked but the agreed start of the hill climb is the stone bridge; the end is the stop sign at the top of the intersection of Old La Honda and Skyline Blvd.

The course record, according to various posts on USENET newsgroups for decades before and Strava data for more recent years, is under 15 minutes. Legend has it that the old record was held either by Dr. Eric Heiden (the Olympic speed-skating champion who lived 2/3rds up Old La Honda), or a guy named Mike Murray. One source quoted Heiden’s time at 14:10. Ryan Sherlock is the current “king of the mountain” on Strava with a time of 14:41.

I may be going out on a limb here, but I think Sean's time will be slower.

I've added some un-edited comments from a blog post about the road (felixwong.com):
From "Kamikaze"

We did this climb all the time back in 76-85 or so… it was the beginning of the long rides done twice a week with the Palo Alto Crew. I remember Eric Heiden going on the ride sometimes, but the stalwart climbers were Kieth Vierra and Sterling McBride… sometimes Dave Faust (Fausto) and Davey Mac would be going good, as well. The guys always said that Boyer and Ritchey probably were the fastest but that was all related “legend” wise …not actual times. Hard to believe anybody but LeMond could climb it better than Boyer …I remember us going up it in about 20 minutes every time …but we were younger and fitter then …lots of mist and bumps ...dogs sometimes.

From "Fritz Knochenhauer"

Regarding: OLH fastest times. I rode OLH regularly in the late 70s and early 80s. It was definitely the benchmark time trial climb for Category 1/2 USCF riders. It was the stuff of legend to hear times of sub-17 minutes during those days. I can vouch for only three riders in that category (myself included) and believe that Eric Heiden’s time was to his house NEAR the top and not all the way to the stop sign.

From "East Coaster"

Given that Basso climbed Ventoux at 96 vertical feet per minute that is consistent with what a top pro could do. 90 VFM = 14:20, 96 VFM is under 13:30.

I came across some speculation about Chris Horner’s victory on the Sierra Road climb during the Tour of California – and how that would equate to Old La Honda. (http://djconnel.blogspot.com.au/)

The next question: what would he (Horner) do for Old La Honda Road? It requires a self-consistent calculation: we know what he can average for 16:47, we have a formula for predicting what he can average for shorter times (the critical power model), so if we know how long it takes to climb OLH we can estimate how much power he could deliver there. But we need to know the power to estimate the time, so it's simplest to use an iterative calculation. Old La Honda climbs 393 meters in 5.42 km. I'll assume a CdA of 0.32 (typical of what was measured by Tour magazine with a dummy) with an air density of 1.15 kg/m². I'll assume a 0.5% coefficient of rolling resistance as Old La Honda has mixed pavement quality. I'll still assume a 0.97 drivetrain efficiency. Playing around with the numbers I get 13.70 minutes = 13:41. 

That would be a record, but only by 17 seconds or so. Greg Drake told me he'd done "sub-14", and it's rumored Eric Wohlberg was even faster. So Horner had a great ride, no question, especially for a master's racer, but the result isn't as insane as it might appear just from the VAM.

And from the Strava.com website:

Rank	Name	Date	Speed	HR	Power	VAM	Time
1	Ryan Sherlock	Dec 2, 2011	12.5mi/h	176bpm	418W	1,556.9	14:41
2	Kenneth Spencer	Jun 11, 2013	12.4mi/h	-	359W	1,541.1	14:50
2	Adrien Costa	Aug 28, 2013	12.4mi/h	-	495W	1,541.1	14:50
4	Jesse Miller-Smith	May 6, 2011	12.3mi/h	-	417W	1,534.2	14:54
5	Chris Phipps	Jan 7, 2012	12.3mi/h	164bpm	327W	1,522.3	15:01

Needless to say, competitive cyclists take this road seriously.  I have to admit, the engineer in me loves the analysis.  I also love the contrast of this epic battle against a hill compared to the serenity of the Pacific Ocean awaiting them at the end of the day in the sleepy little town of Davenport.

But let's not lose perspective. This is only Day 1 and it's not about speed. It's a ride across the country. But it's more than that. It's about awareness and leading a heart-healthy lifestyle.  It's all to get people talking about health, heart disease and stroke. You see, Sean is a stroke survivor. He's made an impressive comeback from not being able to talk or walk. He never gave up. And now he's setting out across the country to raise awareness for the American Heart Association and sharing his story. What can you do? Follow along. Consider riding with Sean. Consider getting an arterial ultrasound for your carotid arteries. I got the scan. You should, too. Consider donating. Do it for yourself or for a loved one you've lost. It doesn't matter how much or how little you do, just do something good.