Long Beach Tour de Cure

Received this updated on the Long Beach "Ship to Shore" Tour de Cure from Alan Dedman, who works at the Valero Wilmington Refinery.

This ride this year started from a new venue, the legendary RMS Queen Mary cruise ship in the Port of Long Beach; the route would take us through Long Beach and over the Vincent Thomas and Gerald Desmond Bridges and then Palos Verdes Peninsula.

Well I arrived at the starting area nice and early around 05:30 and had plenty of time to get ready as the start time for the 60 mile event wasn’t due to go until 07:00; tents and registration areas were still being set up by the large contingent of volunteers. One area that was receiving a lot of attention was the breakfast bar, fresh fruit, bagels, juice and coffee was already on display. I bypassed that area having already had breakfast and some really strong coffee prior to leaving the house.

As the time got closer to the registration area opening, I made some last minute checks on my bike, oiled the chain and derailleur and then wiped off the access, clipped my GPS system in place, then I decided to put on arm and leg warmers as the lighter it got, the more I could see that this was going to be a day for some extra clothing. The marine layer cast a gloomy light over the harbor, and knowing that we were going to ascend the Palos Verdes Peninsula, the weather could only get worse, generally what happens is you finish the ride, then the weather improves and the sun comes out makes everything look good.

At 06:00 I decide to go and register, I see one other Team Rider, Jim Leary; he’s collecting his registration package including his bib number and a ticket for a T-Shirt. I get into the 60 Mile line and await my turn, which doesn’t take that long, I get my number and other stuff and go back to my car and pin my number to my jersey, “121” clear for all to see.

I return to the registration area and I’m informed that we have a tent, or a canopy, for our fund raising efforts, plus the number of volunteers that have come out to help.

Valero Volunteers at the Ship to Shore Tour de Cure

As time passes a few more Team riders show up, and after some general chit-chat we notice that the start time is fast approaching, and the set start lanes are beginning to fill up so myself and a couple of other riders decide to get in our mileage lanes and prepare for the 07:00 start. Well the advised start time arrives and we still haven’t gone anywhere, we’re receiving the customary pre-ride speech from the organizers, and then a thank you speech from the Mayor of Long Beach, which is all very nice, but what you really want to do is get the show on the road.

While we are listening to the speeches, I look across to one of my team mates, and notice he’s tearing the top off a package, and up pops this pink stuff. I thought it was a strawberry pop tart, wrong, it turns out it’s a package of SPAM, yes that SPAM. This guy is going to climb a lot of hills and he’s consuming spam. I ask him what he thinks it will do, and he replies that it is full of carbs and protein. I ask him if he’s also seen the sodium content as well, to which he says that’s alright I need that to. No sooner has he finished his sachet of SPAM, when he opens a South Bay Nutrition Bar, this guys an eating machine, he’s smiling away and telling us that he has more packages of SPAM and bars.

At last the speeches stop and we’re off, only 30 minutes adrift, but at least we’re moving. It must have woken up a young lady in the 30 mile section, as she went to get ready to start and fell to the ground, fortunately not into our moving lane. We ride off the grass and onto the road, and the speed picks up to an acceptable rolling pace. This is when problems generally occur, people out for the first time, not aware of their surroundings, and with very light riding skills. Then there are the serious riders who just want to clear out of the area and keep them, the inexperienced riders,  as far away as ever, the sooner you put distance between them and yourself the better it gets, and you can relax a bit.

 We exit onto Queensway then make a right onto Shoreline riding on part of the Long Beach Grand Prix track, actually we go over the Grand Prix Finish Line and on up to Oceangate  and make a left turn and head for the Gerald Desmond Bridge. The traffic lights on this section of road are certainly out of sequence, no sooner you start and think you’ll make the next set, when they change and the group you are riding with come to a disgruntled stop. We know it’s quiet and even with no traffic coming from either direction; there are a lot of riders up front just waiting on the next guy to make the move. By the time everyone has had time to look at one another to see who’s going to make the move the lights change and we’re off again. We repeat this scenario about three times before we actually arrive at the first of many intersections where the local Police were manning the intersections. As we approach them the traffic signal is showing red, they wave us through, great at last we can get into some speed.

There is a short climb approaching the bridge over the 710 Freeway then downhill for a short distance before we hit the first of the 2 bridges. The Gerald Desmond Bridge is a decent climb, which is stretched out a bit but manageable, as you climb this section, looking to your right you see several of the Berths, all too familiar to those who work in this area.

The organizers of the ride had taken the precaution of covering the expansion joints on the bridge, thank goodness, I had visions of my front or rear wheel getting caught in one of them grooves, and taking a tumble. One other problem though associated with the covers, was that they had only covered about a 6 or 8 foot section, so you had to be careful about who you had at the side of you before you went through the cone markers.  There were some unstable riders there who should have started at a later time to complete their shorter distances but I suspect they started with us to buy a little extra time.

 Having crested the bridge it’s a speed fest, downhill, easily reaching 30 M.P.H., plus until it levels out a bit before the next short ascent on a fly over at the base of the Terminal Island Freeway as we ride on to the Vincent Thomas Bridge. I keep pace with a husband and wife team on a tandem, and then pass them, hoping they’ll jump on my wheel to draft a bit. They remain with me until we arrive at the base of the Vincent Thomas Bridge, then I gradually begin to pull away, climbing the bridge section, passing quite a few riders, before I find a group of strong riders who I decide to ride along with.

Staying with this group, we ride on to Gaffey Street sweeping down at speed for a brief time and then a right hand turn onto Front Street, which eventually becomes Harbor. We cycle past the Cruise terminal and onto Ports of Call, where we make a left into Ports of Call, then out again past the Fish Harbor and back onto Harbor and then joining Pacific as we pass Fort Macarthur rolling onto to Paseo Del Mar.

We as a group are beginning to talk to one another, just briefly, exchanging a few words but nobody has any idea about what lies ahead on 25^th Street. What we are about to hit is Anchovy Hill, now we were told or informed on the route sheet; which I didn’t have, that this is an 8% grade. My GPS informed me it was 17%. I really didn’t care what grade it was, it’s just that it got me out of my pedals and I just pedaled for what I was worth, and my wheels were just about turning. At this point there is no thought about stopping and walking up, because if you stopped you had no time to unclip from the pedal and put your foot down, you would just fall.

Out of our lead group, three of us crested the climb together, and as we crested it there was a Traffic Cop holding traffic up for us to give us a clear run down on Western. We didn’t speed away, instead we maintained a steady pace and allowed a few others to catch up, and it’s always good to ride in a group of strong riders.

At this point a rider from Pasadena, John had decided to keep me company and we began to take turns up front pulling the group along. Western is now getting faster as we progress along and onto the Palos Verdes and Rolling Hills. The Tandem group have caught up with us and there is also a young rider on a single speed managing to keep with up with us, how he got up the hill I don’t know, but he’s doing well now.

We are gaining elevation all the way now, and the more elevation we gain the cooler it gets, because we are now getting into the heavy Marine Layer, may even have been low cloud, but whatever it is it’s getting damper by the mile. We are now on the Palos Verdes Estates, and the Pacific Ocean is on our right. I can imagine the scenery would have been breathtaking, but the view was obscured by the low visibility. I have removed my sunglasses as they serve no purpose whatsoever, the lens is soaked and they are more of a hindrance than a help.

I am now getting a good soaking, and I have another friend, it’s a rivulet of water that refuses to fall from the rim of my helmet. It runs from left to right and it’s becoming a distraction and I need to concentrate on the road and the group. I do for brief time, and then my attention gets drawn back to this damn drop of water. This distraction eventually departs the rim as we go down a fast section of road into a sweeping left hand turn. One of the group has misjudged the turn and he is now fighting to recover as he gets closer and closer to the curb; I’ve done that myself and it’s like the curb begins to pull you in, that’s scary. He eventually ends up hitting it but fortunately staying upright on the bike and recovering. He got so close to the curb that he managed to catch a bush in his derailleur. As he is riding on, trailing this branch with leaves and stuff on it, another rider tries to pull alongside his rear wheel to try and trap and free his bike of the unwanted piece of shrubbery. Before the other rider can give him this help the thinner part of the branch becomes wrapped in his cassette and he has to stop and physically remove it.

We ride on leaving him to his repairs; I’m now wondering about where the Rest Stop or SAG stop as it is commonly known in cycling circles is. I could do with a brief stop, just to get rid of one of the bottles of electrolyte I had earlier consumed. I’m not uncomfortable and still feeling really strong.

As we progress along Palos Verdes, we suddenly come across the SAG stop, the problem is we’re at speed, in the mid 30’s when we come across it. So I decide that in the current conditions, wet on a slick surface, it’s too risky to myself and others behind me to suddenly try and slow and pull in, I apply more pressure and get a bit more speed and just press on. I’ll complete the ride without the stops. I’m now alone, the rest of the group who where behind me managed to make the stop.

After a mile or so I find myself with another group of riders and keep pace with them. We come to a break in the road and have to make a left turn, which happens to be the longest climb of the ride. I’m with a young rider who has left his slower companion behind and is powering up this incline. I keep with him for a while. As we climb the visibility gets worse on the switchbacks as we approach Marymount College.   The climb starts out at a 5% grade and peaks at a 9% grade, but the distance between the two points is telling, and the young rider I’m with is pulling away but not too far I can still see him ahead of me, about 50 yards or so, and the visibility is now getting worse, and with it is the dampness.

My jersey and shorts are saturated once more, but I don’t notice the discomfort that much as the climb is taking all my current thoughts and concentration. Eventually we get to the top of the climb; the young rider peels off to join some of his club friends, who have stopped to give assistance to one of their riders who has what appears to be a flat. At this point the visibility is down to about 20 or 30 yards and I’m now beginning to descend. My speed is gradually picking up and I’m not sure of what is ahead of me having never ridden this road. I am now at Miraleste, and my speed is in the high 20 to low 30’s and fortunately the visibility is getting better and better, I can afford to relax a bit and just coast at this speed, I have nobody behind me or in front of me, and the road is just fine, no acute turns just a smooth left or right as the descent continues.

As Miraleste ends, the route markers indicate I need to turn right, and I’m back on Western, again this is all down hill, the Marine layer has disappeared and it’s warming up some, even though there is no direct sunshine it’s getting warm. My clothes are drying out as I ride on, and I’m feeling very good. My GPS tells me I have about 20 more miles to ride to the finish. I am now coming to the end of Western and make a left back onto Pacific and the return of the initial start of the ride, although I know we won’t be riding back over the bridges.

Still riding on Pacific my speed is now broken up by the numerous traffic signals, so it’s hard to get any sort of constant speed above 20 M.P.H. The route is now going back past Ports of Call, and under the Vincent Thomas Bridge to join Harry Bridges, which ironically goes right past my office and then joins Alameda.

At Alameda my original riding companion, John eventually catches up to me, and states that he has been keeping with this fast group which has now taken the lead. These were the guys that I left at the top by Miraleste to assist their riding colleague. As we proceed on Alameda we go past the Valero Refinery and on into Long Beach. On Anaheim we cross the Los Angeles River and just over the bridge past West Coast Choppers to 10^th Street where we make a right. Staying south on the street takes us right back to the Queen Mary and the Finish line.

My net riding time for the 59.51 miles was 3:20:23 at an average speed of 17.8 M.P.H. my top speed was 37.6 M.P.H, and I burnt 3,453 calories, most of which I think was spent on the 3,670 feet of climbing.

I had a great time, even though the weather wasn’t the best, a new route is always fun and meeting new faces on the ride even better.

Thanks to all of you who donated, to this very worthy cause, you have made a difference to somebody that really needs it. They will remain faceless to all of us but it is nice to know, especially when I’m on the road riding in my Tour De Cure colors, that motorists will pull alongside of you or make an effort at a traffic signal to say “Thank you, for riding for us.”

Once again thank you and God bless you all!

Alan the Brit

Looks like Alan can hardly wait to start the ride.  Click here for more Long Beach Tour photos.

- Andrea