Algorithms and Bicycles

The ride was supposed to be easy — at least according to the map/elevation profile provided by mapmyride.com. Nothing could have been farther from reality. Seth, Kara and I rode from Pine Junction, CO to Deckers, CO, yesterday (07/20/2008).

The first part of the ride, from Pine Junction to Deckers, was moderate. It was cool — we started around 8:00AM — and the route was very beautiful. The road parallels a creek and so the greenery was most pleasant to the eyes.

It was during the return trip that things became difficult. There’s a four mile long climb, at 8% grade, out of Deckers. By the time we left Deckers, it was already quite hot (10:00AM). I suffered on this climb badly. What was worse was that I was running short of water.We had hoped to refill at Pine.That didn’t happen. There were no general stores or gas stations in Pine to refill. So, when we started climbing out of Pine, I was left with just half a bottle of water. The climb was 7 miles long.Two miles into the climb, it was over. And things began to worsen.

To make it short, I began measuring the progress first in terms of half miles and then down to one-tenth of a mile. There was no power/energy left in me. I stopped every half mile, sometimes even before that. Also, I was getting cramps — on both legs. As it progressed, clipping out became an exercise in itself, because of the cramps.Finally, about three quarters of a mile from Pine Junction, I stopped. Unable to move any further. I could not stand straight because both my legs were cramped. So I leant on to the bike to support. I stayed like that for what seemed to be an eternity.

Then I heard a voice behind me: “Are you alright? Do you need anything?” I turned around and found my angel. It was a kayaker, possibly headed out for her day in the water. I said “Do you have some water?” She said, “yes, of course.” She could not have stopped or turned the car around at that point. So she drove down further and came back a minute later.She came up to me and asked what was happening. I explained the situation. She went back to the car and came out with several bottles of gatorade and water. I gladly accepted a bottle of water from her. It was surreal.

I didn’t ask her name; neither did I tell her mine. It doesn’t matter. I know that her kindness will forever be etched in my mind. Thank you, my angel.

I finished the ride a few minutes later. While clipping out, the cramps finally completely overpowered me and I collapsed. Kara came over and helped me to get up. Seth had by then brought back more water and gatorade. Anyway, in a few minutes time, I felt better. Seth also offered to drive, which was very kind of him. Thank you Seth and Kara.

In the end, everything was fine. I was safe. Only due to the kindness of the unknown angel and my friends Seth and Kara.

So, I am back in Boulder. Returned from Calgary on 22nd April. The drive from Calgary was uneventful, except for the first day when it was cold (15F), windy and with snow drifts all the way.   Today I went for the ‘first’ ride after my return, with my riding buddies Brendan, Seth and a few others with who I have ridden before. The plan was to start from the Table Mesa shopping complex and ride to Ward via Old Stage Road and Left Hand Canyon.  I knew that my legs were not ready for this, which became abundantly clear when we hit the first climb on Old Stage Rd. To be fair, the Old Stage Rd is pretty steep, with grades going up to 16% or so. Anyway, I dropped the plan to go to Ward and instead rode to Jamestown. Even that was hard work.  While returning from Jamestown back to Superior, I rode over the Old Stage Rd again — I have no idea why. To summarize, by the time I got home, I had had enough of ride for the day. The ride details are here: The verdict is clear: I better put on some serious, quality miles, and that too fast. On the other hand, I am glad to be back!

It was nearly 45F in Calgary around 2:00PM. That in itself is nothing short of a miracle, in my very biased view. Perhaps as one gets closer to North Pole, miracles do happen. Anyway, to cut the short story shorter, it was a very Boulderesque weather today. So, I decided to ride. (more…)

I suppose this isn’t a surprise for anyone who knows me. I have decided to join Acceleware Corp, in Calgary to pursue new challenges. As new frontiers in computational platforms are conjured up by the magicians of computer engineering, folks like me flock to solve problems faster and better. At least that’s what I hope to do. (more…)

Instead of my telling this story, I am letting my friend Look 361 who was with me in this ride to narrate it. I have uploaded the pictures from this trip to the Gallery and the ride details can be found here.

Day 1: Florence to Westcliffe

Hi! Sanjay affectionately refers to me as ‘my 361′ and I am a bicycle. I was with him on his recent ride along the Sangre de Cristo mountains, and he asked me to describe it. So, this is my side of the story! (more…)

Subbu and Scott have been doing this ‘pilgrimage’ for the last several years. So, this year, when Scott suggested the idea again, being a true believer in traditions and traditional values, Subbu could not say no, despite being apprehensive about the weather! When it comes to cycling, since my brain tends to be as functional as that of President Bush, I decided to participate in this ’surge’ to the East as well, bringing 16.2 lbs of carbon fiber along. (more…)

Okay… They have been up for some time. But now it’s official: You can find pictures from my rides at the Gallery.

Also, I have started somewhat formally documenting my rides. The idea is to catalogue as much information about every significant ride so that others may find it a useful resource. It’s called the Outdoors.

On a related note, I recently had three great rides. First, during the Memorial Day weekend, Subbu and I rode from La Veta, Colorado to Trinidad, Colorado over the Cuchara Pass. The pass is above 9900 feet and the ride, a total of 60+ miles is fairly difficult. But the scenery, especially the ‘dikes’, are spectacular. There’s a little town called Stonewall, which seemed to be named after the natural wall formation (another ‘dike’) just outside the ‘town!’ I have posted some pictures from this ride.

Then, Subbu and I rode up the Frying Pan Road near Basalt, Colorado. This is another of those less known, but beautiful rides. It is a climb from Basalt to the end of the pavement. My only disappoint was this: towards the end of the pavement, we saw the road climbing pretty steep into the right. So, both of us were mentally preparing for that ‘brutal’ climb, only to find that the pavement ended well before that! The pictures are here and the route details are here. Subbu has made a post on this ride.
Finally, last Saturday (June 16th), we rode up Mt. Evans from Echo Lake. The 14.5 miles (one way), 3600+ feet climb was hard because of the elevation. My goal was to ride up under 2 hours and I made it in 1 hour 59 minutes (still nearly 30 seconds slower than the winner of the Mt. Evans Ascent run!!!). Some pictures are here. The route details can be found at my Outdoors portal.

May 20th, Santa Fe Century: First century of the season. Here’s the stat: 102 miles, 4000+ feet of climbing, 6 hours and 20 minutes.

I did the century ride and Carol the half-century. (more…)

1. Subaru Outback and bicyles: On March 8th, I rode up to NCAR (National Center for Atmospheric Research), about 600 feet above Boulder. Got the first flat of the year:) (more…)
    

Yesterday (11/04), I rode up to Ward. Started from my office around 11:45AM and reached there around 2:15pm. The climb was uneventful (well, for the second time I managed to reach there without a break!), although cold. By the time I reached there, my fingers were numb. It was so nice to hold a warm cup of coffee in my hands and to feel it becoming alive again:)

But the return journey was miserable. Although I was wearing three layers, I was cold.  I was shaking uncontrollably  and at times I could not keep the bike steady. In fact, I had to stop after every mile, sometimes even before that. It was the longest  downhill in my life. Took me more than an hour and a quarter to go down the 17 miles!  I still don’t understand why I felt so cold. Yes, the numbers weren’t bad: 52 miles and 4000+ feet of climbing. But statistics don’t tell everything.

To compensate for yesterday’s misery, I went out today and rode 50miles of rolling hills and flats. Home-Dillon-McCaslin-75th-Lookout-79th-Niwot Rd-95th. 95th-Oxford-CR119-CO119-WCR1-Rinn Rd-WCR7-CR8-US287-Baseline-95th. Just to make sure that I have a real half-century and not an approximate one, I detoured into Louisville. In the end, the numbers were 50.48miles in 3 hours and 23 minutes.