Monday, October 13, 2014
Wednesday, July 2, 2014
Bailey Hundo Recap
A few weeks back I raced the Bailey Hundo, which is a hundred mile mountain bike race to raise funds for Trips for Kids, COMBA, and Bailey Trails. The race starts off with about 60 miles of trails in the Buffalo Creek area and features a lot of riding on the Colorado Trail and finishes with stretches of pavement and forrest service roads.
The race starts at 6AM and my alarm clock woke me up at 4:30 AM for breakfast and coffee in my sleeping bag. I prepped my bike for the long day and was off for the "warm up" ride to the start, which was 15 minutes away. My fingers were frozen due to temps in the mid 30s by the time I got to the start line on this cold Saturday moring. Most people were wearing arm warmers, knee warmers, and vests. I chose not to as it was one more thing I didn't want to worry about.
The race starts at 6AM and my alarm clock woke me up at 4:30 AM for breakfast and coffee in my sleeping bag. I prepped my bike for the long day and was off for the "warm up" ride to the start, which was 15 minutes away. My fingers were frozen due to temps in the mid 30s by the time I got to the start line on this cold Saturday moring. Most people were wearing arm warmers, knee warmers, and vests. I chose not to as it was one more thing I didn't want to worry about.
RMR teammates at the start line!
400 riders start at the sound of the shotgun blast. The race starts off on road and then goes into some double track. Both 50 mile racers and 100 mile racers started at the same time, so it was fairly difficult to gauge who to try to pace with. I settled into my rhythm and focused on my race strategy. I know the effort I can maintain for 100 miles and how often I need to eat.
The first section of singletrack is on Segment 3 of the Colorado Trail, and I knew if I positioned myself fairly well, my race would be off to a good start as I am quite familar with the upcoming trails, which is a huge advantage. I was on pace through aid station 3. I stopped quickly to grab two fresh water bottles and was off. I felt the Green Mountain climb and a fairly long section of the Colorado trail before 126 were the toughest parts of the race. I rode great through these two points and made another quick stop at aid station 5. My fast transition put me ahead of a bunch of racers who made less efficient stops.
I crossed 126 into an area devasted by past fires and was riding solo as the miles ticked off and the temperature rose. Around mile 50 there was a short but very steep climb. This is where I started to feel the efforts of the race. I was conservative the next few miles and descended to the next aid station quickly where I drank four cups of water and a cup of coke.
At mile 58 or so the race hits the open road for about 12 miles. I was able to take pulls with one racer for a few miles, but our pace was different, so I decided to go off on my own into the stiff headwind that was fighting me. Other than the elevation profile, from here until mile 90 I did not know what was in front of me. The scenery, lakes, and canyons kept my interest piqued. Then the road pointed up and changed to dirt roads. 22 miles of climbing and sun were in lay ahead. The miles in the mid 70s hurt. After what turned out to be the steepest section, I needed to stop for a moment. Once back on the bike, I realized I was right around the corner from aid station 8. It was about a minute bike ride there and I was greeted with an ice cold Coke. Shortly after, the engine started to rev back up and I felt better.
At Wellington lake I passed a sign that told me the mileage to Bailey and my effort picked up as I knew approximately how far I had to go. A rider passed me a few moments before I saw this sign and I gave what I could to try to pass him. I chased uphill and downhill as hard as I could. This rider continued to be just out of sight. I made up significant ground on the last downhill with speeds approaching mid 30s on the wet dirt road. A quick uphill and a right hand 120 degree turn were all that were left in the race. I sprinted as hard as I could after 94 miles of racing and finished strong.
It felt great to have the energy to race 95 miles after a tough spring of training. Conditions and support during the race were great. Its always fun to compete on trails I know well. I finished 10th in my age category out of 34 finishers and 68th overall. Garmin track here. I finished in 8:55:51 with only about 7 minutes of non moving time. Results here.
I'd like to thank everyone who donated to my race and more importantly to the causes that this race supports. I was able to reach my fund raising goal and my race goals!
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Happenings
A few weeks back I crashed in the Growler and bounced my knee off a rock. At first I thought it was only a cut as blood poured down my leg. After a while my knee started to tighten up. I finished the lap did not feel up for another. Turns out this was a good idea. I ended up being off the bike for the next 9 days. Walking hurt. Anytime I put pressure on my knee, it was to much. This past week I slowly got back on the bike, but the effort has been pretty low.
Towards the end of my downtime I picked up a bike I've been thinking about for quite a while. During the last year or so I've strayed away from the "road" bike. Mountain bikes are more fun to ride and they are far more versatile. Plus canyon roads can be quite sketchy early and late in the year with debris from the weather on the roads.
The Santa Cruz Highball Al with full Shimano SLX is exactly what I was looking for. I solid aluminum frame, SLX components which I am sure will prove functional and durable, plus a rigid fork. I plan to use tires that are beyond their trail life so I will never really have to buy new tires for it. I am sure the Highball will be a great new "road bike."
Summer and drier weather has finally arrived in Colorado. The last few weekends I've ventured to Twin Lakes for some camping, mountain biking the Colorado Trail, and a little bit of altitude training. Twin lakes is a nice, quiet, underrated, and beautiful place to be.
Its also one of the nicer segments on the Colorado Trail!
Unlike some of the resort towns, I hardly ever run into others out here.
The Santa Cruz Highball Al with full Shimano SLX is exactly what I was looking for. I solid aluminum frame, SLX components which I am sure will prove functional and durable, plus a rigid fork. I plan to use tires that are beyond their trail life so I will never really have to buy new tires for it. I am sure the Highball will be a great new "road bike."
Pre fire ban fire
Monday, May 6, 2013
Ridgeline Rampage
Its been a little over a week since my first solo race of the year. I think the race went fairly decent. It was more of a training race as opposed to a high priority race. I finished 14/38 in my age category.
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Contrast
Two weekends of riding, two complete opposite environements. Last weekend 70s and sun in Moab, the weekend before temps in the teens at best and 4-8 inches of snow.
2013 Twin Six Metal Kit!
Slickrock
Buffalo Burn, Buffalo Creek
Fatbike set up for a couple long rides
Miles of open gravel roads!
More wintery singletrack, somewhere...
Thursday, February 21, 2013
24 Hours of Old Pueblo 4 man-2nd Place
Last Wednesday morning I departed for Tucson to participate in 24 Hours of Old Pueblo mountain bike race. The last time I raced in a 24 hour race was 2006. Ever since then, I've wanted to compete in more of these events. 4 person seems to be a lot of fun as you get to race hard, recover, and go again. Jeremy Young, Ben Jones, Adam Haid, and I made up team Trek RMR Velon Hangar.
Our group met up early Wednesday to caravan down. Jonathan Davis (solo race winner!) was driving down his RV, which was great to have so we could ride down in style, cook warm meals, and have a solid roof over our heads while at the race. Jonathan's family, Jeremy, Adam, and I were in the RV on the way down. Curt Wilhelm, Brian Sells (also solo racers) and their support rolled down in Brian's Sprinter van.
Thursday morning we set up camp, which was right on the course-both sides of the trail to be exact. This is really helpful for solo racers so that they don't have to go off course to resupply as they lap through. For the rest of us, it gave us a great location to see the race unfold. Thursday afternoon the group went out for a quick lap. It was fun to ride with the group to see their lines and get a feel for the course. I felt pretty good throughout the ride, which included a few solid efforts. The course is very fast and flowy. From someone from Colorado's perspective, there aren't any sustained climbs. The most challenging aspect of the course is carving in and out of the various cacti, which are relentless in sourthern Arizona, and the constant pedaling (no rest on long dowhills). Course data here.
Friday it was much of the same. Wake up, hang out, get some good breakfast in, and slowly get ready to do another lap. The group took off fairly fast. I had in mind what kind of effort I wanted to put in the day before the race, and quickly was dropped. This allowed me to see the course on my own and get a better feel for it though. I got to choose my line as opposed to following someone's wheel. By the end of the lap, i was glad I had the opportunity to follow the group and ride by myself in consecutive days.
Gameday came and the weather was nice, sunny and 60s, but there was a bit of wind. Jeremy volunteered to take the first lap, which included a La Mans style start (hundreds of cyclists running in cycling shoes-not fun). I handed him his bike as he approached to save him some time. He was probably in the top 20 overall. On the first lap Jeremy had a great time of 1:00:21. Ben was up next, and followed suit with a 1:00:25. Adam was out on the course (turned a 1:05 on his first lap), so I started to warm up. I was a bit nervous and hoped I could turn out a solid lap. Most of all, I wanted to be consistent from start to finish. I went out hard, but held back a little bit on the first lap to keep from blowing up. I rode smooth and put in a lap time of 1:06 per my GPS (1:07 with the time it took to get to my bike). I was very excited about this, especially since I knew I had a lot left in the tank.
Laps two, three, and four were all night laps. Over the last few years, I've done a ton of night riding in the front range. I've always felt that darkness is not a reason to stop riding my bike. I actually feel it brings a new sense of excitement and fun to the trails I ride all the time. I pulled off all three night laps and was only a couple minutes slower than my day lap.
As the race was unfolding, we were aware of our placing, which was pretty much 2nd in the 4 person mens open the whole day. Sho-Air/Cannondale had us by 10-15 minutes, and third place was 20 or so minutes behind us. We had to keep racing hard to maintain our place. One mistake by the leaders and we could have been first or we could have fallen out of contention if we made a mistake.
Lap 5 was at about 9AM. It felt great to make it through the night without any hiccups and to still feel strong and get one final lap in the sun. I knew this would be my last, so I wanted to leave it all on the course. I cooked one turn a bit to much and went off course about 9 or so miles in. Miles 12-14 seemed to hurt the most everytime through. This time, I looked down, and even though I was working as hard as I could, I struggled to get my heart rate into the 150s. I rolled through to the transition tent and the result was a 1:09!
I was so excited upon getting back to the transition area. I put down 5 laps with my fastest time being 1:07 and my slowest lap 1:11. Consistent. I knew that would be the case, but to have so little variance in time was amazing. I also knew I had done my part, and with only two more laps for the team, things were looking good. Jeremy and Ben cranked out a lap each, and we secured 2nd place. Lap times here. Category results here.
It was amazing how the team came together. We didn't really talk much stategy, but it all played out well. Everyone did what they needed to do. We didn't have any missed transitions, burnt out lights, or mechanicals. We had great support and an unreal camp/setup.
The rest of our group had great results as well. Jonathan Davis battled the field and finished 1st solo male! Curt rode to 2nd, and Brian Sells finished 4th in his first ever 24 solo. Tanner, Jonathan's son, cranked out 8 laps in his solo effort for a new distance record.
Video produced by Adam Haid here.
Our group met up early Wednesday to caravan down. Jonathan Davis (solo race winner!) was driving down his RV, which was great to have so we could ride down in style, cook warm meals, and have a solid roof over our heads while at the race. Jonathan's family, Jeremy, Adam, and I were in the RV on the way down. Curt Wilhelm, Brian Sells (also solo racers) and their support rolled down in Brian's Sprinter van.
Inside the RV on the way down
Thursday morning we set up camp, which was right on the course-both sides of the trail to be exact. This is really helpful for solo racers so that they don't have to go off course to resupply as they lap through. For the rest of us, it gave us a great location to see the race unfold. Thursday afternoon the group went out for a quick lap. It was fun to ride with the group to see their lines and get a feel for the course. I felt pretty good throughout the ride, which included a few solid efforts. The course is very fast and flowy. From someone from Colorado's perspective, there aren't any sustained climbs. The most challenging aspect of the course is carving in and out of the various cacti, which are relentless in sourthern Arizona, and the constant pedaling (no rest on long dowhills). Course data here.
24hr camp, Brian's Sprinter left, Jonathan's RV right
Friday it was much of the same. Wake up, hang out, get some good breakfast in, and slowly get ready to do another lap. The group took off fairly fast. I had in mind what kind of effort I wanted to put in the day before the race, and quickly was dropped. This allowed me to see the course on my own and get a better feel for it though. I got to choose my line as opposed to following someone's wheel. By the end of the lap, i was glad I had the opportunity to follow the group and ride by myself in consecutive days.
Gameday came and the weather was nice, sunny and 60s, but there was a bit of wind. Jeremy volunteered to take the first lap, which included a La Mans style start (hundreds of cyclists running in cycling shoes-not fun). I handed him his bike as he approached to save him some time. He was probably in the top 20 overall. On the first lap Jeremy had a great time of 1:00:21. Ben was up next, and followed suit with a 1:00:25. Adam was out on the course (turned a 1:05 on his first lap), so I started to warm up. I was a bit nervous and hoped I could turn out a solid lap. Most of all, I wanted to be consistent from start to finish. I went out hard, but held back a little bit on the first lap to keep from blowing up. I rode smooth and put in a lap time of 1:06 per my GPS (1:07 with the time it took to get to my bike). I was very excited about this, especially since I knew I had a lot left in the tank.
Jeremy
Ben
Adam
Laps two, three, and four were all night laps. Over the last few years, I've done a ton of night riding in the front range. I've always felt that darkness is not a reason to stop riding my bike. I actually feel it brings a new sense of excitement and fun to the trails I ride all the time. I pulled off all three night laps and was only a couple minutes slower than my day lap.
As the race was unfolding, we were aware of our placing, which was pretty much 2nd in the 4 person mens open the whole day. Sho-Air/Cannondale had us by 10-15 minutes, and third place was 20 or so minutes behind us. We had to keep racing hard to maintain our place. One mistake by the leaders and we could have been first or we could have fallen out of contention if we made a mistake.
Lap 5 was at about 9AM. It felt great to make it through the night without any hiccups and to still feel strong and get one final lap in the sun. I knew this would be my last, so I wanted to leave it all on the course. I cooked one turn a bit to much and went off course about 9 or so miles in. Miles 12-14 seemed to hurt the most everytime through. This time, I looked down, and even though I was working as hard as I could, I struggled to get my heart rate into the 150s. I rolled through to the transition tent and the result was a 1:09!
I was so excited upon getting back to the transition area. I put down 5 laps with my fastest time being 1:07 and my slowest lap 1:11. Consistent. I knew that would be the case, but to have so little variance in time was amazing. I also knew I had done my part, and with only two more laps for the team, things were looking good. Jeremy and Ben cranked out a lap each, and we secured 2nd place. Lap times here. Category results here.
It was amazing how the team came together. We didn't really talk much stategy, but it all played out well. Everyone did what they needed to do. We didn't have any missed transitions, burnt out lights, or mechanicals. We had great support and an unreal camp/setup.
The rest of our group had great results as well. Jonathan Davis battled the field and finished 1st solo male! Curt rode to 2nd, and Brian Sells finished 4th in his first ever 24 solo. Tanner, Jonathan's son, cranked out 8 laps in his solo effort for a new distance record.
Podium shot, Adam Haid, Ben Jones, me, Jeremy Young
Video produced by Adam Haid here.
Monday, November 26, 2012
Feets of strength
It was good to get in a week of riding with great weather and a short week of work during Thanksgiving. 21,000 plus feet of elevation gained with most of it on dirt in late November is quite a surprise.
Sunday I rode Nice Kitty, which is a newer trail at Buffalo Creek, with Mike. Thanks to all of those who helped make the trail. It is well designed. It is mile .5 to about mile 4.6 in the link below.
Buffalo Creek ride with Nice Kitty
Monday, October 22, 2012
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Kenosha Pass to Breckenridge and back
Park City Point 2 Point wrapped up a long, mentally and physically challenging two months. A few to many big events and lots of traveling (5,000 miles in two months) left me drained. I was looking forward to relaxing after the race, but was invited to ride with a group of friends from Kenosha Pass to Breckenridge, spend the night in a rented house, and ride back the next day. It was going to be a pretty tame ride on some really fun trails at about the time the leaves begin changing colors in the high country.
Saturday morning the eight of us departed Denver to park at Kenosha Pass to begin the journey. It was a little cold at 10,000 feet early in the morning, but the first half of our day consisted of a lot of climbing up to Georgia pass. Few riders were out as we started. It was nice and peaceful having the trails primarily to ourselves. I felt a little tired, but set the pace and was riding pretty well, which enabled me to stay at the front and get a few pictures. There was a chance of rain in the forecast for the weekend, but there wasn't a cloud in the sky during our ride. The last few miles of the descent down Georgia pass was quite rocky and technical. Once we made it to Breckenridge, I had to make a quick stop at a local bike shop and then met the group at Breckenridge Brewery for lunch.
Saturday morning the eight of us departed Denver to park at Kenosha Pass to begin the journey. It was a little cold at 10,000 feet early in the morning, but the first half of our day consisted of a lot of climbing up to Georgia pass. Few riders were out as we started. It was nice and peaceful having the trails primarily to ourselves. I felt a little tired, but set the pace and was riding pretty well, which enabled me to stay at the front and get a few pictures. There was a chance of rain in the forecast for the weekend, but there wasn't a cloud in the sky during our ride. The last few miles of the descent down Georgia pass was quite rocky and technical. Once we made it to Breckenridge, I had to make a quick stop at a local bike shop and then met the group at Breckenridge Brewery for lunch.
Part way up to Georgia Pass on Saturday
Sunday morning's start was quite a bit colder. As we departed our house, the temperatures were in the upper 30s. The ride to Tiger road was quick. Not long after we reached the pavement though, Nick's chain broke. Thankfully I learned my lesson from Pierre's Hole 100 and had a couple SRAM quick links that I used to fix his chain. The technical section after Tiger road proved to be a bit of hike a bike, but once we got past that, the climbing was consistent. Again, once we got above treeline the sun and temperature was perfect.
Brisk but sunny start to the day
Back on the CT to Kenosha pass
Brad leading the way up to Georgia pass
Justin just out of treeline
Nick riding through the Aspens
The weekend was just what I needed. About four hours of riding a day, no pressure to ride fast, a good group, and lots of good trails.
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
July
July 4 Fireworks in Breckenridge started at 9:32. AM. The Firecracker 50 Expert 30-39 field was the second wave of racers to begin the July 4th parade and two lap 50 mile race. The road lead out and 6 mile climb up Boreas Pass separated the field early. I rode conservatively consistent on the climb and worked in with a few riders as we gradually picked off riders that could not keep pace. I rode well and let it go on the downhills as much as I could handle on the hardtail with sort of numb hands from a couple big early season rides. I had a small crash, but besides that, the first lap went well and I lapped through earlier then I expected.
A very quick pit thanks in part to Eric, who handed me two new bottles, and I was off. The second lap was a little slower as I felt a bit tired. A friend offering encouragement on Little French Gulch kept me moving up the rocky, steep, loose climb. One of my water bottle cages broke, so I had to stop and "fix" it. A case of chain suck due to the dry course slowed me for a few moments also. I actually thought I was not going to be able to get my chain free after a few moments. I was pretty worked the last 1/2 of the second lap, but still managed a solid time. I was a bit faster then I thought, but it was hard to compare times from this year to last year as the course was a little bit different and probably faster. I was 50 minutes faster though, and am happy with the result.
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The Breck100 a week and a half later was a far different story. I didn't ride much between the two races since they are both fair efforts and I wanted to be fresh for the Breck100 which climbs over 13,000 ft. I took the start line Sunday morning at 6AM with questions on how recovered I was and if I was ready to rock. 30 minutes into the climb I knew it was not my day. The two previous years I had to hold back the effort on the climb up to Wheeler Pass. This year I could barely turn the pedals over. My heart rate was really low and I could not get it to the zone I normally climb in. I couldn't even get it to my normal endurance effort. I continued on with the hope my body would come around. Who knows. Sometimes it takes a few hours. My lap one time was slow. I didn't feel right. And I didn't feel another 70 miles. I pulled the plug, which was difficult to do. It had been 4 years since I DNF'd at a race, the last being a triple flat day. I was pretty disappointed I was not ready, but I think DNF'ing was the best idea as I did not want to dig a deeper hole and not be able to get out of it for a while. Some days you have it, some days you don't.
I took five days off the bike after the race, which was mentally challenging. This past weekend was the Courage Classic Children's Hospital fundraiser, and I wanted to make sure I was ready for a good weekend of riding in Summit county. Most of team GTRI stayed at a condo that we rented in Frisco. The goal was to ride from the condo each day. The start line for the day one route was in Leadville, 31 miles from the condo and over Freemont pass, which was almost 2,000ft higher than our start. Tim and I rode to the start and got going a little later then we planned. Most people probably started IN Leadville before we started in Frisco. Our pace was a little different, so we each rode on our own. Turquoise lake is surrounded by 12,000ft peaks and a thick pine forest. The ride around the lake consists of steep climbs and descents. Flat sections don't really exist here. I was tired and uncertain how I would react to big rides less than a week after having nothing, so I took it easy on the way back to Frisco. Ride data here.
Sunday's ride was 100 miles. It was a lot of riding on Summit counties elaborate bike paths and then out to Ute Pass, which was a new climb for me. I felt pretty decent for the first couple hours. I worked in with a pace line before the Ute pass turn off to save energy and keep moving. I worked to the front a few times, even jumping ahead when it seemed to slow down. When I was at the front I was keeping speeds between 25 and 35mph, which surprised me quite a bit. The route had us going up and over Ute pass and turning around when the rough pavement turned to gravel. Its a nice climb from both sides. I don't think it ever got over 8% on either side. A little rain for a while was the only notable thing for the rest of the ride. Ride data here.
Mondays ride started off quite painful. Turning the pedals after 180 miles the previous two days was brutal. It took about 30 to 40 minutes for the legs to come around a bit. The steeper pitches up Freemont Pass forced a greater tempo. My "pacing" for the long ride turned to an all out effort to the top 15 miles into an 80 mile ride. I used the frustration from DNF'ing the week before to keep the pace up. The ride was very similar to Mondays ride, but this time it was supposed to end in Leadville. That was our lunch break before the final 31 miles back to the E. A quick coffee stop for some extra fuel and we were on to beat the rain and lightning. My legs felt great climbing up to Freemont. I reached a new top speed on the bike on the ride down, 58.1mph. Monday's ride here.
The Courage Classic was a great weekend for a great cause. My legs felt good for most of the weekend, and I really needed a good weekend of training.
A very quick pit thanks in part to Eric, who handed me two new bottles, and I was off. The second lap was a little slower as I felt a bit tired. A friend offering encouragement on Little French Gulch kept me moving up the rocky, steep, loose climb. One of my water bottle cages broke, so I had to stop and "fix" it. A case of chain suck due to the dry course slowed me for a few moments also. I actually thought I was not going to be able to get my chain free after a few moments. I was pretty worked the last 1/2 of the second lap, but still managed a solid time. I was a bit faster then I thought, but it was hard to compare times from this year to last year as the course was a little bit different and probably faster. I was 50 minutes faster though, and am happy with the result.
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The Breck100 a week and a half later was a far different story. I didn't ride much between the two races since they are both fair efforts and I wanted to be fresh for the Breck100 which climbs over 13,000 ft. I took the start line Sunday morning at 6AM with questions on how recovered I was and if I was ready to rock. 30 minutes into the climb I knew it was not my day. The two previous years I had to hold back the effort on the climb up to Wheeler Pass. This year I could barely turn the pedals over. My heart rate was really low and I could not get it to the zone I normally climb in. I couldn't even get it to my normal endurance effort. I continued on with the hope my body would come around. Who knows. Sometimes it takes a few hours. My lap one time was slow. I didn't feel right. And I didn't feel another 70 miles. I pulled the plug, which was difficult to do. It had been 4 years since I DNF'd at a race, the last being a triple flat day. I was pretty disappointed I was not ready, but I think DNF'ing was the best idea as I did not want to dig a deeper hole and not be able to get out of it for a while. Some days you have it, some days you don't.
I took five days off the bike after the race, which was mentally challenging. This past weekend was the Courage Classic Children's Hospital fundraiser, and I wanted to make sure I was ready for a good weekend of riding in Summit county. Most of team GTRI stayed at a condo that we rented in Frisco. The goal was to ride from the condo each day. The start line for the day one route was in Leadville, 31 miles from the condo and over Freemont pass, which was almost 2,000ft higher than our start. Tim and I rode to the start and got going a little later then we planned. Most people probably started IN Leadville before we started in Frisco. Our pace was a little different, so we each rode on our own. Turquoise lake is surrounded by 12,000ft peaks and a thick pine forest. The ride around the lake consists of steep climbs and descents. Flat sections don't really exist here. I was tired and uncertain how I would react to big rides less than a week after having nothing, so I took it easy on the way back to Frisco. Ride data here.
Sunday's ride was 100 miles. It was a lot of riding on Summit counties elaborate bike paths and then out to Ute Pass, which was a new climb for me. I felt pretty decent for the first couple hours. I worked in with a pace line before the Ute pass turn off to save energy and keep moving. I worked to the front a few times, even jumping ahead when it seemed to slow down. When I was at the front I was keeping speeds between 25 and 35mph, which surprised me quite a bit. The route had us going up and over Ute pass and turning around when the rough pavement turned to gravel. Its a nice climb from both sides. I don't think it ever got over 8% on either side. A little rain for a while was the only notable thing for the rest of the ride. Ride data here.
Mondays ride started off quite painful. Turning the pedals after 180 miles the previous two days was brutal. It took about 30 to 40 minutes for the legs to come around a bit. The steeper pitches up Freemont Pass forced a greater tempo. My "pacing" for the long ride turned to an all out effort to the top 15 miles into an 80 mile ride. I used the frustration from DNF'ing the week before to keep the pace up. The ride was very similar to Mondays ride, but this time it was supposed to end in Leadville. That was our lunch break before the final 31 miles back to the E. A quick coffee stop for some extra fuel and we were on to beat the rain and lightning. My legs felt great climbing up to Freemont. I reached a new top speed on the bike on the ride down, 58.1mph. Monday's ride here.
The Courage Classic was a great weekend for a great cause. My legs felt good for most of the weekend, and I really needed a good weekend of training.
Sunday, June 17, 2012
Courage Classic: Riding for the Children's Hospital
The weekend of July 21 to July 23 I will be riding in the Courage Classic, which is a 3 day bike ride . The Courage Classic is a fundraiser for Children's Hospital here in Colorado. Global Technology Resources Inc. (where I work) has always been very involved with the hospital and has actually had some families who have spent time at the facility with their children. For this and many other reasons, Children's Hospital is near and dear to us at GTRI. As such, we have started a team to raise money for the cause. I will be riding for team GTRI and wearing my RMR kit all weekend. Donations can be made using the link below.
See where the Money goes here.
Donations can be made herehttp://www.couragetours.com/siteapps/personalpage/ShowPage.aspx?c=8gLLK3MHLhIYF&b=7741039&sid=ihLUIXODKjISL6PNItF
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See where the Money goes here.
Donations can be made herehttp://www.couragetours.com/siteapps/personalpage/ShowPage.aspx?c=8gLLK3MHLhIYF&b=7741039&sid=ihLUIXODKjISL6PNItF
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Sunday, June 3, 2012
May
Two big races in May and my results in both races lead me to do a fair amount of thinking about where I am at and my performances in both races, which explains my delay in blogging about them. May 12th I raced 12 Hours of Mesa Verde and May 27 raced The Original Growler.
Friday morning I departed for Cortez, which is about 45 minutes west of Durango, to set up shop and check out the course for 12 Hours of Mesa Verde as I was racing this solo. I am glad I did this as there were definitely some tricky spots on the course. I was able to clear everything in my pre-ride, but I knew there would be many spots that would force most riders off of their bikes. It was also good to know where I would be able to consume fuel. The start of the course had some punchy climbs and quick winding descents. The middle of the 16.4 mile course was very rocky and had lots of step like features and drop offs. And the last part contained really steep rollers that if you let it rip down you could easily roll up over. Parts two and three were difficult to drink bottles during.
A windy Friday night did not set things up well as my tent was flapping around all night and I got very little sleep. As the sun rose so did I as I was very excited to turn laps on a fun and challenging course. The race started off with a 400 yard or so le mans style run, which was probably my longest run in 10 years. Long races like these I find quite funny. My plan was not to burn to many matches, so every climb I was pacing myself with what I thought was an ideal heart rate limit. Downhills and technical sections, not so much. This is where I would let it rip. I ticked lap after lap off and was pretty consistent right around 1:40 for the first three or four laps. As I lapped through I would grab a bite to eat and I made sure to drink a bunch of water, Powerade, and Coke as it was pretty warm out. Lap five even went pretty well, but I was falling off.
Lap six was another story. I was not riding technical features very well, and had to walk a few difficult sections that was I was clearing earlier in the day. My mind was tired. My body hurt. Funny thing is my hands, back, and arms hurt more than my legs from the constant jarring of the course. The last half of the sixth lap shifting even became difficult. I lapped through at 10:33 minutes. I was pretty certain I had enough. Most 12 hour races you have to finish the last lap before 12 hours. This race was different. As Long as I went out by 6PM, I could have taken as long as I wanted. Due to my deteriorating condition, I decided to pull the plug. 99.9 miles was a pretty fair effort. I also had 10:15 minutes of moving time in 10:33 minutes, which I was very happy with. I did not think another lap would have been good for all parties involved, but the thought of turning another lap still lingers in my mind. The way I looked at it at the time I could have finished 12th to 14th had I done a seventh lap, so I did not think it was worth it. I ended up 19th of out 40 riders. Garmin info here.
The course was a lot of fun. The race was well run. But I am not sure I will show up to this again as it is a pretty fair ways from Denver and took a while to recover, which leads into the Growler. Lynda Wallenfels, a well respected cycling coach, states it takes two to three weeks to recover from such an effort. The start of the Growler was 15 days after 12 Hours of Mesa Verde.
The week after 12 Hours of Mesa Verde Tim and I went to Gunnison to ride a few laps at Hartman Rocks, the site of the Original Growler. I had two goals for the weekend: become familiar with as many of the technical spots of this course as possible as this is the most technical race on the schedule and determine if the Niner RDO was the bike to race. I sessioned many of the tricky sections and figured out the lines that I could ride and determined what sections were hike a bike for me. At the end of the weekend I was also not beat up, which was great since I thought the Niner would be faster if I could handle riding the hardtail.
On to race weekend. A few rides on Friday and Saturday around the course made me feel even better about my previous weeks reconnaissance trip. Crazy winds kept Saturdays riding to a minimum and forced us to head out to eat dinner. Sunday morning was cold. The game time temperature was somewhere around 35 degrees, but it wasn't windy. I rode in the middle of the pack on the four mile road lead out. Once we turn off the road and onto the dirt, the race officially starts. Kill hill, which is a gravel road with really steep pitches, instantly separates the pack. Two thirds of the way up I found a clearing and decided to go. I actually felt good and my legs were responding. I ended up putting in a good effort for a while and got in with a fast group. 15 or so miles in I wasn't sure I could hold the pace of the group I was riding with. I noticed a few Pro ladies and a couple other strong riders were in the group, so I decided to back off a bit. Even though my legs were a bit heavy, I kept a solid pace and rode most features well.
I lapped through at about 3:40, ate some food, exchanged water bottles and took off on the initial climb. It hurt. I was fairly conservative on the start of the second lap, maintaining a pace I knew I could hold for quite a while. The riding became more difficult as my legs became more tired. I seemed to be passing more riders then were passing me, which made me feel good. I also gapped the group of riders I started with on lap two. Halfway through I started doing some math and I thought I had a shot of being sub 7:30, which I thought would be pretty solid all things considering. I knew where I was at and roughly what I had left to go and in the tank. I increased the effort a bit knowing that if I cracked, I would have left it on the coarse, but if I finished in time, the increased effort and pain would be worth it. I rolled in at 7:29:04 completely crushed knowing I gave it my all. I took about 40 minutes off of the previous years time even though others said this years course was more difficult. I finished 47th out of 90ish riders including DNFs and 115 out of 206 men and there were many more with DNS/DNFs.
Both races were fun and a great challenge. The ultimate compliment to a racecourse is would you ride it for fun if you could, and the answer to both courses is yes, I would definitely ride them for fun. The primary reason for being uncertain about my return to 12 Hours of Mesa Verde is it is to close to the Original Growler. I am sure I could have ridden faster if my legs were less tired at the Growler. I think next year I will not do any races the three weeks leading up to the Growler, which should enable me to put forth a greater effort.
Friday morning I departed for Cortez, which is about 45 minutes west of Durango, to set up shop and check out the course for 12 Hours of Mesa Verde as I was racing this solo. I am glad I did this as there were definitely some tricky spots on the course. I was able to clear everything in my pre-ride, but I knew there would be many spots that would force most riders off of their bikes. It was also good to know where I would be able to consume fuel. The start of the course had some punchy climbs and quick winding descents. The middle of the 16.4 mile course was very rocky and had lots of step like features and drop offs. And the last part contained really steep rollers that if you let it rip down you could easily roll up over. Parts two and three were difficult to drink bottles during.
A windy Friday night did not set things up well as my tent was flapping around all night and I got very little sleep. As the sun rose so did I as I was very excited to turn laps on a fun and challenging course. The race started off with a 400 yard or so le mans style run, which was probably my longest run in 10 years. Long races like these I find quite funny. My plan was not to burn to many matches, so every climb I was pacing myself with what I thought was an ideal heart rate limit. Downhills and technical sections, not so much. This is where I would let it rip. I ticked lap after lap off and was pretty consistent right around 1:40 for the first three or four laps. As I lapped through I would grab a bite to eat and I made sure to drink a bunch of water, Powerade, and Coke as it was pretty warm out. Lap five even went pretty well, but I was falling off.
Lap six was another story. I was not riding technical features very well, and had to walk a few difficult sections that was I was clearing earlier in the day. My mind was tired. My body hurt. Funny thing is my hands, back, and arms hurt more than my legs from the constant jarring of the course. The last half of the sixth lap shifting even became difficult. I lapped through at 10:33 minutes. I was pretty certain I had enough. Most 12 hour races you have to finish the last lap before 12 hours. This race was different. As Long as I went out by 6PM, I could have taken as long as I wanted. Due to my deteriorating condition, I decided to pull the plug. 99.9 miles was a pretty fair effort. I also had 10:15 minutes of moving time in 10:33 minutes, which I was very happy with. I did not think another lap would have been good for all parties involved, but the thought of turning another lap still lingers in my mind. The way I looked at it at the time I could have finished 12th to 14th had I done a seventh lap, so I did not think it was worth it. I ended up 19th of out 40 riders. Garmin info here.
The course was a lot of fun. The race was well run. But I am not sure I will show up to this again as it is a pretty fair ways from Denver and took a while to recover, which leads into the Growler. Lynda Wallenfels, a well respected cycling coach, states it takes two to three weeks to recover from such an effort. The start of the Growler was 15 days after 12 Hours of Mesa Verde.
The week after 12 Hours of Mesa Verde Tim and I went to Gunnison to ride a few laps at Hartman Rocks, the site of the Original Growler. I had two goals for the weekend: become familiar with as many of the technical spots of this course as possible as this is the most technical race on the schedule and determine if the Niner RDO was the bike to race. I sessioned many of the tricky sections and figured out the lines that I could ride and determined what sections were hike a bike for me. At the end of the weekend I was also not beat up, which was great since I thought the Niner would be faster if I could handle riding the hardtail.
On to race weekend. A few rides on Friday and Saturday around the course made me feel even better about my previous weeks reconnaissance trip. Crazy winds kept Saturdays riding to a minimum and forced us to head out to eat dinner. Sunday morning was cold. The game time temperature was somewhere around 35 degrees, but it wasn't windy. I rode in the middle of the pack on the four mile road lead out. Once we turn off the road and onto the dirt, the race officially starts. Kill hill, which is a gravel road with really steep pitches, instantly separates the pack. Two thirds of the way up I found a clearing and decided to go. I actually felt good and my legs were responding. I ended up putting in a good effort for a while and got in with a fast group. 15 or so miles in I wasn't sure I could hold the pace of the group I was riding with. I noticed a few Pro ladies and a couple other strong riders were in the group, so I decided to back off a bit. Even though my legs were a bit heavy, I kept a solid pace and rode most features well.
I lapped through at about 3:40, ate some food, exchanged water bottles and took off on the initial climb. It hurt. I was fairly conservative on the start of the second lap, maintaining a pace I knew I could hold for quite a while. The riding became more difficult as my legs became more tired. I seemed to be passing more riders then were passing me, which made me feel good. I also gapped the group of riders I started with on lap two. Halfway through I started doing some math and I thought I had a shot of being sub 7:30, which I thought would be pretty solid all things considering. I knew where I was at and roughly what I had left to go and in the tank. I increased the effort a bit knowing that if I cracked, I would have left it on the coarse, but if I finished in time, the increased effort and pain would be worth it. I rolled in at 7:29:04 completely crushed knowing I gave it my all. I took about 40 minutes off of the previous years time even though others said this years course was more difficult. I finished 47th out of 90ish riders including DNFs and 115 out of 206 men and there were many more with DNS/DNFs.
Both races were fun and a great challenge. The ultimate compliment to a racecourse is would you ride it for fun if you could, and the answer to both courses is yes, I would definitely ride them for fun. The primary reason for being uncertain about my return to 12 Hours of Mesa Verde is it is to close to the Original Growler. I am sure I could have ridden faster if my legs were less tired at the Growler. I think next year I will not do any races the three weeks leading up to the Growler, which should enable me to put forth a greater effort.
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