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The day we moved from mattbeckwith.com and into our new place  - pizzagohere.com - I got a call from Tom (fromThe Grape) saying that the band would be recording the mattbeckwith.com theme song!!!  Wow, I am honored... Dawn and I have known Tom for many years... since the Shakey's Late Night times... oh, so many eons ago... and he has always been a big fan of the site... but to give us a theme song???? Wow, that's impressive...without any further delay... here it is... the mattbeckwith.com theme song sounds mattbeckwith-dot-com.MP3 (click to play or right click to save)

you've just logged on mattbeckwith.com... you've just logged on mattbeckwith.com... just move the mouse and click, see what's going on.... you got Mrs. B, who is Dawn Marie, you got Mackenzie and Emily, you got JR, Kenny, Missy, Tony, Lance and Mike, you can even see Matt riding his bike, you have just logged on mattbeckwith.com....

 

 

Climb Day

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Another cool ride with the entire NBC (Newman Bike Club)... Chuck and Bill.  We met in Livermore and then drove out to Antioch to start the ride.  Chuck had been promising a lot of climbing on this ride and within the first several miles we knew what he meant.Against a horrific head wind, we climbed up Kirker Pass and into Concord.  The next climb was Morgan Territory.  With plenty of shade, never a car in sight, some long but gradual climbing and just enough flat spots makes this one of my favorite places to climb.... not to mention the killer descent on the south side!  With a nasty head & cross wind coming at us I was never able to get over 42. We thought we lost Bill on the ascent but later learned that he hadn't tightened his new saddle well enough and it was tilting back quite a bit.  None of us had any tools but thankfully there were some other riders that did.  Chuck empathized... I, on the other hand, told Bill to be a man... take the damn seat off and ride on the post!!! We then headed to Danville and to Mount Diablo.  We rode up very strong... and I shaved 7 minutes off my to-the-junction time.  At this rate... I'll be able to get to the Summit in one hour... in 2008! From the junction we headed down to Walnut Creek and up Yngacio Valley.  Near the end, we faced the other side of Kirker Pass... it was very hot but we got to the top and then FLEW down into Pittsburgh!  This descent was awesome... I got it up to 53... wow, what a rush!! What a great ride... Bill pushed hard on the climbs and kicked my ass on the last 10 miles. Chuck, of course, dominated in the hills! Our ride ended up only being 80 miles... but 80 miles with a lot of climbing!

 

Pizza Go Where?

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Welcome to our site... pizzagohere.com, formerly known as mattbeckwith.com ... gladly serving you since 1997.... . . CONGRATS TO THE DETROIT PISTONS . . . !!!! thebeckwithfamily Pizza Go Here???? What the heck kind of name is that for a web site??? I can here it now.  I guess I expected that question to be asked.  Pizza go here is forever; "pizza go here" is proof that family never forgets... especially when you really want them to!  Pizza go here is a famous quote uttered by my Mom, at Dante's Pizza, many years ago... you know... sometimes what you mean to say and what you actually say are two different things... well, that's what happened.  When the waitress came to our table with the food, Ma said, "pizza go here!"  and we have been laughing about it ever since! So... Dawn and I have been talking about changing domain names but we just couldn't come up with a name that stood out above the rest... then, a few nights ago... it hit Dawn... just as she was going to bed... she came running into the Outback... PIZZA GO HERE... and here we are!

 

Del Puerto Canyon Ride

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I met Chuck and Bill in Newman early... and it was already warm.  Bill rode the 20 miles out to the road up the canyon and then turned around and headed home (he had a prior engagement).  Chuck and I rode the 25 miles up the road... plenty of shade, few cars, lots of turns and subtle climbing (subtle, but long).  The last mile-and-a-half was harder than I remembered from the 9-20-03 ride.  I have ridden a couple of thousand of miles since being here but I still was not able to get that last big climb without a breather.When I finally got to the top I confirmed with Chuck that the junction store was only a few more miles up the road.  I did tell him that my big fear kept flashing before my eyes.... we get to the store and it's closed (for the record, it was 10 am and the store didn't open until 11!!!! "Don't worry, it's open... I was just here a couple of weeks ago" Chuck said.... famous last words of a fool.... you guessed it.... it was closed!!!! Chuck and I trespassed on the property and nervously filled one bottle each of the nasty yellow water that came from a huge tank.  I got up that damn climb partly because of Chuck's tantalizing account of all the wonderful food and drink that awaited us at the store... gatorade a plenty... powerbars... clifbars... rice crispy treats... cold water... it's a cyclist's heaven. We eventually made it back to Patterson and got refilled at the AM/PM... but after 70 miles. There were some nasty winds on the last 20 miles but overall it was a great ride.... about as great as can be expected as 6 hours or Chuck talking smack can be.... ha ha! 90 miles... a lot of climbing... Next week.... Diablo, Morgan Territory... etc.... 104 miles.... a lot more climbing.... ouch.... I can't wait!

 

Sierra Century 2004

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The early start from Plymouth was cold but by 8 am I was glad I started when I did because it was starting to get hot!Just like I was warned at the last century, the first 20 miles had a lot of downhill.  I was told to not push too hard... hard to resist... but I knew I had to save my legs for the  climbing.  The first rest stop came early but I still stopped. sc2004 Shortly after leaving the Ione stop I hitched a ride on a paceline with an Anne, 2 Steves and a Jeff (that's how Anne introduced them all).  I was happy to hook up with these four riders because they were very tall (great to draft behind them) and strong.  I took my turns pulling and had a good time going with them for about 15 miles.  Once the climbs came, however, they dropped me.  I saw them at the Volcano rest stop but left before they did.  I also saw Steve from Foster City (the Steve that helped pull me the last 20 miles in the Sunrise Century).

Leaving Volcano had some great climbs and it was getting hotter.  At the end of that climb came the 10 mile descent into Fiddletown... wow, what a descent!    I stayed too long at the Fiddletown rest and felt a little sluggish getting back on the saddle.

I stopped at a water stop to get my derailleur adjusted and then headed off again.

I found plenty of other riders to pace along with through the rest of the climbs but decided against doing Slug Gulch, opting for the bypass option.

Toward the end of that bypass climb I was already regretting not taking Slug Gulch... and then I caught a flat... first one in over 500 miles... I hate flats!!!!

Once back on Omo Ranch road it was an easy push back to Plymouth.  Little wind... hot, but a some shade.

Shortly after I got back, Steve N. pulled up who left a few minutes before me... I knew something was up if he was just minutes behind me... well I was right, he did Slug Gulch plus the extra 20+ miles (the Challenge - the Double Metric)... that guy is incredible!

Overall, my third century was great... my favorite of all...  SAG was everywhere (again, luckily I did not require)... rest stops were awesome... route was excellent... volunteers were plentiful and very nice.

 

Lodi Sunrise Century 2004

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Perfect weather today for a ride!  Left Lodi High at 7:00 and within the first few miles found a few guys to pace.  The first 20 miles into Clements was cool as the four of us took turns pulling to the first rest stop.  I grabbed a bagel and strawberries and threw some more food in my jersey and took off by myself... not wanting to wait around too long.  From there I headed up to Lake Camanche.  The climbs were mild but I could still feeling them,  I only needed my triple one during the whole ride.  The views going up were spectacular ... and the oddest... I've never before seen an ostrich and an emu on the same ride! After the lunch stop at mile 52 in Wallace I headed out on Hwy 12 looking for riders I could pace.  I didn't get to any other riders until Johnson Rd and rode with a group of guys for 8 miles or so.  That group flew past 4 huge painted arrows indicating a turn... luckily they heard me yelling, "HEY, TURN, TURN... ARROWS" or they may have ended up riding way out of their way.

Then came a 9 mile stretch of Clements road that was very long, straight, no shade and had a killer side wind.  At one point there was a nasty dust cloud from a farmer plowing a field... visibility was cut to a maybe a hundred feet so I slowed down to cut through when there were no cars nearby.

Finally making it to the last rest stop in Linden I rested a full 10 minutes or so and then waited to find others that were leaving at the same time so I could draft.  Heading West was difficult after 75 miles... right into a nasty headwind.  No one else was leaving so I took off before this one guy that looked like he was leaving soon.  Sure enough, he passed me a mile later and held on for dear life.  Heading west, we traded pulls for 45 minutes or so, through the toughest part of the ride.   He helped me get the next 20 miles and then I had to drop back and let him go on his way (thanks Steve!)

I finally rode back in to Lodi, tired but feeling great.  I met a lot of other riders (most giving me great advice for my next century - The Sierra Century).  I also beat my goal by 10 minutes so I was not disappointed at all.

 

Delta Century 2004

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My first Century... what a blast!  When I first started riding 10 months ago I set this date on my calendar as my first Century and it showed up on a great day.  I had always planned on riding it solo but Chuck decided, the day before, to join me. I pulled up to the parking lot at the Mondavi Woodbridge winery at 6:00 am (noticing that the first vehicle in the parking lot was Chuck's), threw my jersey on and headed to the registration tables.  At 6:30 we were on our way. I felt good in the morning and was happy to have Chuck with me... going solo on my first Century would've been boring.  The first rest stop was at New Hope school in New Hope (I never knew this little town existed) at mile 18.

first_1 me and Chuck just before mile 18 first_3 yours truly first_4 I don't recall where this is ... I think leaving Walnut Grove... cell phone lady in the front, Noah, David, me, Chuck, ???, ???

From there we made our way through Thornton, Walnut Grove and Courtland for the lunch break at mile 48.  At mile 66 (and not a moment too soon), there was an unofficial break at the ferry crossing.  I don't think I've ever been on a ferry... certainly not with a bike.  After eating and re-filling the water bottles we headed out to Hood and Clarksburg and back to Walnut Grove for the last rest stop at mile 78. Finally, home stretch!  After riding 80 miles a few weeks prior I was feeling pretty good at this point and knew I was near completion of one of my first year's goals.

We met up with David and Noah from Oakland who were also riding their first Century.  Chuck and I spent a lot the day trading places with this father and son duo.

The views were pristine and the roads sometimes bumpy.  SAG was always around (knock on wood, we had no mechanical problems!)  There were a lot of winding roads that made the ride very enjoyable.

Next Century... Lodi Sunrise Century 5.22.04... see ya on the road!