We usually climb Henry Coe each Wednesday evening, starting at 5:15 pm. Now that the days are getting shorter, than means we need to use lights to come back down the hill. It was rather warm today so Jim emailed me and suggested we ride earlier. I called and said I could do a 4 pm start. Jim, Doug and myself all met on Dunne Ave. at the bottom of the climb. The next race in the Winter Series is going to be a hill climb up Henry Coe, so wanted to get some benchmark.

Doug is a very good climber, faster than I am. We rode together during much of the climb but he went ahead toward the end. Using the start/end locations that the San Jose Bicycle club uses for a 6.77 mile hill climb, my first time was 42:17, with an average heart rate of 158 and a maximum of 170 (while chasing Doug at the end). Here is the heart rate curve (click it to enlarge).

I never went into the red zone, except at the very end, but was pushing close to my lactage threshold. I think I can possibly take enough time off in a race to break 40 minutes. I timed the second climb and it took 45:40, with an average heart rate of 153. However for this time I stopped at the regular regroup location and waited for the rest of the riders so it is not quite an accurate measurement.

It was geting dark before we reach the summit (my second time) and the temperature was dropping, as expected. At the top I added more clothes and waited for the rest of the riders. Jim and Doug had decided to not go up a second time becasue they did not bring lights, as I had done.

We all seem to have much better lights than last year and during the decent the road was lit up like a car was driving down. Kley has a BR light as I do. Todd was borrowing a light from Chuck because the one he ordered had not yet arrived. Both Chuck and Todd were having problems with the mounting of their lights because they were trying to attach them to the aerobars. My BR LIght worked great. I am really sold on the new LED technology. Todd has ordered a HID light so I am curious to see how much brighter it is. I like the LED light design because it can be more robust and it is easy to have different power settings to achieve extended battery life on a charge. I am quite happy with the BR light I bought.

Categories: Cycling Group Rides
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