Patterson to Livermore ride

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I met Chuck early on Saturday morning in the big city of Patterson.  He promised me an incredible ride... he promised me a lot of climbing... he promised me more than 100 miles of lung pounding, leg screaming roads.  Well, once again, the coach delivered!The first order of the day was to get over the famed Del Puerto Canyon (after I went back and did the first .75 miles twice because I FORGOT MY WATER BOTTLES) [see 6-12-04 and 9-20-03] which I finally did without a rest!  On the way up a guy flew past us like we were standing still.  When we approached the wall (the last 1.5 miles, Chuck took off strong, eventually passing that same guy (who, by the way, never made it to the top).  We re-grouped and rode to the junction to fill our water bottles with the nasty tank water (this time, we brought plenty of powdered energy mix to kill the taste). It was now 31 miles to Livermore with more climbing, beautiful views and far more bikes than cars.  Chuck caught a swarm of bees in his helmet on a downhill stretch and flung his helmet off... only to realize that his shades went, too.  He was able to save his frame and nose piece but he would have to ride the rest of the day without any eye protection because the lens was demolished! We had lunch at a Subway in Livermore and headed back toward Patterson.  The hills were even more brutal on the return trip and it was getting hotter and hotter.  Somewhere up Mines Road we stopped where there were three very young girls selling ice cold lemonade for $1 glass!  These girls were very entrepreneurial.  I said that, given all of the cyclists out, perhaps selling cytomax would be more profitable... Chuck, on the other hand, pointed out that in a few years, when they were all "legal" they would surely sell "A LOT MORE LEMONADE!" Chuck caught a flat shortly before the Junction on the return trip so we had an unscheduled (but much needed by me) rest stop. After filling our bottles at the Junction we headed back for town.  Chuck made me power over the last couple of little baby climbs (which I still feel today). Total miles: 112 See y'all on 7/17/04 . . . Stockton, French Camp, Tracy, Manteca..

 

Extravaganza 2004

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Extravaganza 2004!  Our 24th year. This year found we partied in Jamestown and had a BLAST!  Special thanks to our FNGs... such good sports and remember, you can only be FNG once... so, here's to next year!Want to see pictures... sorry, those have been classified... if you were there then you will receive a link soon. Otherwise, these were the only shots fit to print: TN_2004-06-26_Extravaganza_78 TN_2004-06-26_Extravaganza_79 TN_2004-06-26_Extravaganza_80 TN_2004-06-26_Extravaganza_82 TN_2004-06-26_Extravaganza_83 TN_2004-06-26_Extravaganza_84 TN_2004-06-26_Extravaganza_86 TN_2004-06-26_Extravaganza_93 TN_2004-06-26_Extravaganza_81 2004-06-26_Extravaganza_12

 

You Have Just Logged On...

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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.