Road Bike Rides - Bonelli Loop

I thought I would start sharing some of the rides I’ve done. So here’s the first in an evolving series of rides. These rides are for road biking.

The Bonelli Loop is a popular ride among cyclists in the San Dimas area.  It offers a route through Frank G Bonelli Park and the parts where you’re on the public roads are pretty quiet most of the time. Bonelli Park contains Puddingstone Lake and Dam. Inside there are some rest stops for water and bathroom breaks. This means you can easily do the loop several times. Most people park at the Park and Ride on Via Verde just past the entrance to the 57 freeway but you can also park along Puddingstone Drive by the industrial complex.

These are various versions of the loop starting with the most basic.

Bonelli Loop via Dam

This route cuts over Puddingstone dam. The road across the dam can get busy with cars early in the summer mornings and weekends when Raging Waters is open. The traffic backs up along the dam as people line up to get in. You can ride along it easily enough, just be careful as you get closer to Puddingstone drive as it’ll get tight. The majority of the time it’s empty and you’ll see plenty of cyclists, runner and walkers.

The busiest part for traffic is along Fairplex drive but for the most part you wont encounter too many cars.

Bonelli Loop via San Dimas Ave


This is an alternate route that does not go across the dam. This is a good option when traffic is lined up along the dam.




Extended Bonelli Loop via San Dimas Ave


If the basic loop is too short for you or you want some more climbing you can try this one. It’s a nice downhill along Via Verde and Covina Hills but then you gotta climb back up Via Verde! A couple of Cat 5 climbs.





Extended Bonelli Loop w/extra climbing


Want more climbing? Then turn left and head up Canon Ave off Puddingstone.

If you’re up for it there is a weekly ride doing the loops called Buds Ride. You can find our more about that ride here.

After your ride you can head into downtown San Dimas for a bite to eat too.

So there you have it. Quite a few options for you to try. You can loop one several times or do combinations of the different loops.

Essential Gear - Water Bottle

Water, Water everywhere. So DRINK it!

Staying properly hydrated is important in any sport. As I build up the miles in my bike I’m paying more attention to keeping properly hydrated.

There are lots of articles online about how much water you should or shouldn’t drink. For me, I pretty much drink only water nowadays (plus coffee!) and I try to avoid any kind of soda. From what I’ve read online it’s also clear that proper hydration means being properly hydrated all the time, not just when out running or riding.

There are a lot of different types of water bottles out there. I’ve got a few different ones but my favorites are

Camelbak Podium Chill – A 21oz insulated bottle. I like it because it keeps my water cool enough for my rides and the valve on it is excellent, not spills or worry about too much water coming out when you drink from it. I’ll sometimes chuck the empty bottle in the freezer before filling it up too. It also slides in and out of the bottle holder on my bike really easily.

Clean Bottle – The clean bottle is awesome. The top and bottom both come off for really easy cleaning. They’ll be no funky smells coming from this bad boy. I use this one for mixing electrolyte and recovery mixes in. I can then take the bottom off and chuck it in the dishwasher to remove the gunk from the bottom lid.

Silly Cyclists!

We've all seen them, maybe even at some point we've been one!

I just stumbled across this excellent site called "Silly Cyclists". It states on their site that

"The aim of Silly Cyclists is to aid in teaching cyclists what not to do on the roads. It can be a dangerous place on the roads but in most cases good cycling techniques can make you safe! These are often lacking in cyclists, and it's shown in this video series."

Check out their latest episode below.

 

Now head over to their site and watch some more!

Essential Gear - Sun Protection

It’s officially the start of summer on June 21^st, which means it’s more important than ever to get some sun protection when out running/riding!

Being English/Scottish means I’ve been blessed with pasty white super sensitive skin. I get sunburn watching fireworks! After moving to sunny California I learned pretty quickly to make sure to wear sun screen from about April through October whenever I’m going outside for any length of time.

So, what can you do to protect yourself from the sun’s rays?

Sunscreen

The first thing that comes to mind is always sunscreen. It should be at least SPF 15 and protect against UVA & UVB.  It’s important to protect from both UVA & UVB as they are both damaging to the skin. UVA rays reach beyond the top surface of our skin and can damage connective tissue and increase our cancer risk. UVB does not penetrate the skin as much but can damage the skin cells.

For me, I use at least SPF 30. I put it on anytime I’m going to be outside for more than 30 minutes. Typically I’ll put it on after I shower before heading out or before I head out for my run or ride. I have also made sure I have easy access to it. As a rule I keep some in the following places:

• In the bathroom
• In the closet with my cycling helmet
• In my seat bag of my bike
• In the trunk of the car
• In the center console of my car
• In the wife’s purse

I’ve got various size sprays and tubes to store in those locations. My personal favorite sun screens are the Neutrogena Ultimate Sport ones, particularly their spray and face cream. They are actually SPF 70 and both go on really easy and don’t leave me looking or feeling greasy. I also use a lip balm sun screen from Banana Boat.

Where should you apply sunscreen? You want to put it on any exposed area of the skin.

For a runner that means arms, legs, face, neck and don’t forget those ears!

For cyclists you want to pay attention to the same areas but especially above the knees, neck and ears. You should also roll the sleeves of your jersey up and the bottom of your shorts and apply to those spots as your clothing will move as you ride.

You might also consider putting a second layer of sunscreen on depending on which direction your doing. If you going toward the sun, you should put extra protection on the front and vice versa.

Clothing

Sunscreen isn’t the only thing you can do to protect yourself from the sun’s rays. In fact, it’s NOT the only thing you should do. Did you know a typical t-shirt has protection of less than SPF 15?

If you’re going running outside in the sun you’ll want to pick up a tech shirt with SPF in it. Most major brands make t-shirts with SPF 25 protection that is also moisture wicking. A wet shirt will offer less protection from the sun. Check the tag before you buy it, it should state it’s SPF rating.

The same goes for cycling. You can pick up a jersey with SPF in it or an undershirt, failing that you’ll want to put sunscreen on before putting your jersey on. Your back can be exposed for long periods of time during a ride.

For any clothing you own you should always follow the washing instructions so you don’t destroy the SPF protection qualities.

You also need to protect the top of your head.  A cap is a great way to do this; it will also help to protect your face. You can also soak it and squeeze out the excess water then put it in the freezer overnight and then wear it when you run to keep cool. You can also get cycling caps which can be worn underneath your helmet when riding.

Cycling Cap

Eyes

Sunglasses are really the only way to protect your eyes. UV radiation is particularly harmful and the less time spent protecting your eyes the quicker your vision will be damaged.

Retinal damage from UV starts from before we are even 10 years old. The consequences of excess exposure do not become apparent until we are grown up.

The brand name is of no relevance on a good pair of sunglasses. A good pair of sunglasses should block 99% to 100% of UVA. All sunglasses block UVB radiation. Did you know sunglasses without UVA/UVB protection are worse than none at all? They cause your pupils to dilate allowing more UVA damage to your eyes! Large lenses that fit close to your eye are the best. You can find a good article on picking sunglasses here.

So there you have it. Hopefully you’ll be better prepared next time you step out to enjoy the sun!

12th Annual Northgate Market 5k

Today was my third 5k race of the year. After feeling good about my last race I wanted to improve on that. This race was the 12th Annual Northgate Market Gonzalez Downtown Anaheim 5k.

The race packet pick up was early in the morning before the race. I headed down there about 6am to be sure I had plenty of time. The pickup was quick and easy and the parking was really close so I was able to keep everything in the trunk of the car.

My Bib

I put my garmin, road id and fitness belt on then headed out of the parking lot. I did some stretching and light jogging. Had to warm up the thighs a bit cos they were feeling a little stiff from my bike ride on Thursday.

About 7:45 I made my way over to the start line and killed time chatting with an elderly man about various local races. At 8am on the button they started the race. I wished the man good luck and off he went, he was fast! I started running at a decent pace to start getting past the walkers who'd started at the front and once I was free of the crowds just focused on my breathing and keeping a steady pace.

The T-Shirt

I make a rule of not checking my garmin while I race so I was keeping an eye out for the mile markers but didn't see any. I just kept plugging away at it. The course was really flat and smooth, I felt good so picked up the pace. Before I knew it I had looped back towards the start/finish area so I picked up the pace some more.

The Finish Line

When I crossed the line I stopped my garmin and then checked my time. 26:40, a new PR for a 5k race for me! Really happy with that, another 5k below 30 mins plus chopping a minute of my 5k PR. Hopefully with work I can get below 25 minutes!!

Essential Gear - Helmet

Today I picked up a new helmet. I've been using a cheap Giro Livestrong helmet for a while now and was getting fed up of looking like one of those mushroom men from Super Mario Brothers!

I did a bit of hunting round a decided on a Limar 777 Road Bike helmet. It's really light and looks great, it's got the added bonus of matching my Scotland jersey I got a few weeks ago. I tried it on and it is alot more comfortable than the cheap one I've been using.

Inside the helmet - lots of padding for comfort

Front - the mesh is to stop bugs getting in while i ride

Side view

There are alot of differing opinions on the safety of helmets. Some people claim they dont help and some say they are essential. There was a good article on Bicycling.com today about helmet safety. It covers alot of interesting points. You can read it here.

For me, a helmet is essential. I need my brains! And just in case I ever do get knocked off i've got my Road ID on my wrist too.