Hut Hut

This past weekend I went up to the Peter Estin 10th Mountain hut.  Our group had 14 or so people, most of whom met Friday morning for the trek up to 11,200 ft.  The weather for hike was warm and sunny, which is quite a contrast to the previous three hut trips I have done.  I think the other three were very cold, and at least one was quite snowy.  A base layer and pullover were all that were needed to keep me warm this time.  We even found the hut before lunch, which is a first.  This allowed for plenty of lounging around.

Home for the past weekend, no electricity or water, but pretty sweet

View from the outside of the hut

Saturday I got off to a slow start, but rallied after breakfast.  Most of the group took off for Charles Peak, which sits at 12,050 ft.  Five of us motivated sorts chose to go on.  Eric and I set the pace and our destination was the highest peak in the center of the picture below.  We encountered some extended ups and downs and had to break trail in fairly deep snow.  The pitches we experienced proved to be the most difficult though.  Even with my MSR snowshoes, which have amazing crampons, I was sliding down quite a bit and I had to use my hands to balance and crawl up.  Once we reached the hump in the middle of the picture, the terrain after it and before the long ridge were a little to dicey to carry on.  A quick snack and the others decided to return back.  Eric and I had no desire to head to the hut early.  As long as the sun was up and the temperature was tolerable, we sat on some rocks to enjoy the view.

Taken from the top of Charles, which is higher than our turn around point

 

Our tracks to the top can be seen if you zoom in

 Evidence of hard work and unseasonably warm temperatures

 The trail back down

100

In January of 2009 a group of friends and I challenged ourselves to ride a century a month.  It became what we did.  Every month, we would get together, ride, stop for candy, cokes, and ice cream.  At first it was a challenge (not the eating part, the riding).  Can we get the ride in before it gets dark in the winter?  What about the winter, which Denver does get.  Early on, it was something I had to prep for quite a bit.  But it was fun.  I mean riding your bike all day with friends.  Its tough to beat. 

Chris, me, Brady, Erik, Jeremy

It also paved the way for bigger things.  Some of the rides were quite difficult.  I learned a lot while I was out there, wherever there might be.  What works well to keep me going.  How far can I push myself. 

36 months later the streak continues.  36 consecutive months with at least 1 100 mile bike ride.  How it goes down changed a bit.  People moved on and don't ride as much.  Unfortunately I rode a handful of them by myself this year.  Will it continue, I don't know.  I will still ride my bike and get big rides in, but the 100s, well its not quite the same doing this by myself. 

1999 Specialized M2Comp after its 1st 100 mile bike ride



Sundays ride, while not the most difficult (Mt. Evans from town?  WRIAD with lots of wind?  Wrist canyon with rain and maybe 50 degrees?) was up there.  I departed at 6:38 AM.  It was cold.  I turned back for more clothes.  The hose on my camelbak was frozen for at least the first two hours.  It was icy and snowy, which is why I chose the Specialized.  I certainly would have died had I tried to ride my road bike.  The ride itself was pretty uneventful.  Lots of bike paths, a few roads, some state parks, and a pretty fair headwind out of the south.  About the most exciting thing that happened was passing a pack of roadies as they were walking on ice and snow a few minutes after they blew by me.  I rode the snow.  They hiked it, ha.  Oh, and I had to get done by 1:50 or so so I could see the kickoff of the Packer game.  Almost 7 hours of pedal time, and I made it.  36 for 36.

Well I guess if its going to be winter.....

Snow and frigid temperatures hit the Front Range this weekend and this called for an activity change.  I have a few snowshoe trips planned, so I decided to get my winter gear dialed in.  Saturday I went up to Rogers Lake with some friends that will be going with me to the Peter Estin 10th Mountain division hut shortly.  4 hours of snowshoeing, 2,000ft plus of elevation gained to reach a max elevation of 11,300ft, and temps hovering around 8 at the car made for a good test. 

Sunday I rolled out the snowbike!  Few bikes give you more smiles per mile.  Tim actually rode with me to, and he was on his regular mountain bike.  I wasn't really sure how this "ride" would turn out as I've not ridden the Pugsley at Bear Creek State Park.  We rode around aimlessly for a while finding a lot of trails that had a little to much snow to roll consistently.  Then we found a fun loop consisting of 50% or more of wooded singletrack.  A few laps, and we had a small course that was getting good and packed down.  A little exploring and we were able to make a figure 8 that was quite fun.  My new winter shoes and Twin Six Metal jacket kept me quite warm.  Details here.  I will be heading back Monday for more laps, but this time it will be at night with lights.  Sick!  Will you be there?

Burning Turkeyday extra weight

Its been almost a month with no blog like activity.   Got out for a great ride today.  Rode mostly dirt from home to Bear Creek state park to Mt. Falcon to Lair O' Bear and back.  Info here.  It wasn't fast, but the legs are beginning to like to turn pedals again.

TwinSix and Honey Stinger will once again be on board for 2012!  I am hoping to hear from others shortly.

Moab and Fruita

Things have been fairly quiet for me lately.  I fell flat on my face (not literally) at the end of September.  Most of October was spent being lazy.  A few easy bike rides here and there, but nothing to taxing.  It had been a long season, but a trip to the desert still was in order.  Tim and I put a few things in the E Thursday after work and drove to Moab.  We got to camp late and the stars were out in full force.  I never use a tent in Moab as I really like looking up at the stars from my sleeping bag.  Words can't describe a clear night in the desert.

I guess thats a few things in the E

Home for 3 days

Friday morning we got up to ride Amassa Back.  I had never ridden there, so it had to be done.  Its a shorter ride with many rocky features to ride.  We even rode Rockstacker, the wrong way mind you.  Rockstacker is an all mountain sort of trail well suited to short travel cross country bikes, I mean 6 inch travel bikes (we don't have these).  After Amassa Back, we packed up the E and drove to Sovereign Singletrack for another ride.  A wrong turn and my tired legs lead us to a little earlier quitting time than anticipated.  Saturdays totals here.  Paraxdox Pizza fueled us for the the next days rides.

Paradox Pizza, the best place in Moab for a Pizza Pie

Saturday's ride was a ride I wanted to link up for a while.  Moab-Slickrock-Porcupine Rim-Moab.  I thought this would be a fairly big ride.  Turned out it was fun too.  Fred joined us for the ride out of town and through Slickrock.  The crazy pitches at Slickrock were difficult for me as I had little to no pop in my legs.  The descending is fun though.  You can descend and climb (typically) pitches far steeper than you usually can due to the tackiness of the rock.  Quick lunch and it was on to the climb up Porcupine Rim.  This is one of the first times I actually really wanted a longer travel bike.  Porcupine Rim. Saturdays ride data here.

 Follow the white line

Me, Fred, and Tim overlooking the river below

Sunday it was on to the Kokopelli trailhead for some exploring.  Every previous ride here I had been on the same few trails.  The area is a nice mix of flowy technical trails.  But I wanted to ride more.  We rode the usual trails and then continued on to Steve's loop and then Troy Built. The new to me trails were great.  Its always good to get in new trails.  Sundays ride.

Rocky terrain

Wednesday night mountain biking tradition

 The city, full moon, and me

 

Eric D.

It started a little over a year ago.  A handful of friends head out for a weekly night mountain bike ride almost every Wednesday starting in late August as the sun starts to set a little earlier.  Its turned into a pretty nice tradition.  We typically aim for 2 to 2.5 hours, and most of our rides take place at Buffalo Creek, one of my favorite close trails.  Riding at night adds a new element of fun to familiar trails.  Also very few riders are out, which is a nice change of pace compared to the weekends, which are especially crowded this time of year.  While there may be less people to see them, these night rides always bring plenty of smiles to my face.

Chequamegon 2011

Saturday September 17 was the 29th annual Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival (8th in a row for me).  The "40" is the biggest race in the midwest and attracts riders from all over.  This year Christian Vande Velde (Cervelo Garmin) and Jason McCartney (Radio Shack) took the line. I made the journey to the Great North Woods of Wisconsin by myself this year, which gave me a little more flexibility so I took another day off of work. 

After the long drive I got to Eau Claire Wisconsin mid afternoon to spin out the legs and to meet Jim.  Perfect temperatures and dry ground made for a fun ride.  Afterwards we met up with my parents to find a place to stay and get some dinner.

Close trees and wide handlebars, I probably hit 3 trees between Thursday and Monday

Lowe's Creek Eau Claire-tight, twisty, fun

Friday morning the drive continued on to Hayward, Wisconsin to meet the other Fat Tire participants.  I pretty much parked across the street from the Angry Minnow where Nate, Kim, Paul, and Melinda happened to be eating lunch.  After lunch I found the cabin and got settled in until it was time for registration.  After a long season highlighted by finishing the CTR, my approach to this race was somewhat ho hum.  Its amazing what pinning a number on my bike did to my mentality.  As soon as #628 was on the Lev, there seemed to be a flip of the switch.  Baked Ziti, a visit from a couple friends fresh off the Boundary Waters trip, some time spent race strategizing, and it was off to bed.

The 4:20AM wake up seemed crazy, but row three staging was worth it.   Jesse, Erin, Justin, Jeremy Vogels, and I all had solid placing.  The 10AM start is unlike anything I have ever seen.  1,900 plus mountain bikers rolling down the crowded streets of Hayward makes for quite an experience.  Starting, slowing, turning, turning into roads with medians, and then finally the right hand turn to Hwy 77.  This is where the race truly opens up.  Speeds in the upper 20s on mountain bikes!  I ran into Jesse and Erin, and we picked the pace on 77.  I think this is the hardest I ever went off of the start, but I felt good.  I backed off a little before the turn into Rosie's field where the race hits dirt.  The trail is wide open and bumpy, but after the first decent, I turned it back on.  

Road race tactics on a mountain bike

 My turn to pull, going all out

Completely gased at the finish line

At this point Nate (preferred start), Jeremy, Jesse, and Erin were all in front of me, but I could see a couple of them from time to time.  I decided I would let the race come to me instead of attach them this early.  9.5 miles in I picked off Nate.  The next 15 miles would be pretty consistent.  Work the rollers, push it up the hills, work in groups when I could, and let if fly on the descents.  Mile 25 I passed Erin.  Mile 26 or so I passed Jesse on the false Firetower climb, which is the hardest point in the race.  I think the actual climb starts about mile 28 or so, which is where I passed Jeremy.  Its loose, rocky, and has 3 steep pitches (upper teens for grades).  I was weaving in and out of riders up this tight two track climb, often picking the worst lines because it was the only free area.  By the time I got to the top, I was with one other rider.  We passed many riders and put some distance on a group of 10 or so I began the climb with.  I typically redline up this climb as there is a nice recovery descent on the backside.  If I soft pedal down this I keep moving pretty well and usually open up gap on those surrounding me at the top.  Mile 32 I started to cramp and pop though.  I had gone pretty much flat out from the start.  My legs were not used to such an effort.  I was worried.  I did not really have the extra gear I had in years past as I spent the whole year training for 5hr plus races and really only had 2 weeks of solid training since recovering from the CTR.  

From mile 32 on I was frequently looking over my shoulders.  Mile 34 I stopped at an aid station and downed 6 cups of water, which helped a lot.  I began to regain my composure as a fast group flew by.  I latched on and even worked in a few times.  We were flying, and I even got a little recovery when I got to sit in.  A strong finish lead me to a time of 2:31:52.  Not a PR, but it was my best ever placing at 173 overall out of 1919 finishers (27/161 age category).  The coarse was in great shape, maybe even a little to dry and loose.  I was thankful that I used a Schwalbe Rocket Ron on the front.  The Stan's Raven I used last year would have made things a bit difficult with limited traction up front.

Race stats here.

 After the race I ran into a friend I had not seen since college.  We both noticed that we would be racing based on a post on Facebook, one of the actual real benefits of that.  It was his first race, and he had a blast.  Post race BBQ at the original Famous Dave's, fires, and drinks highlighted the evening.  

BBQ and flannel

Sunday after parting ways I met up with Jim again.  The plan was to ride bikes, but rain spoiled our fun.  We mulled around at a local bike shop for a while and then found a spot to watch the Packer game.  I think the record player stopped when we entered the bar.  Everyone there was huddled around the oval bar in the middle, no seats outside the bar area were filled.  The walls were covered with NASCAR signs and many signs for many sports teams.  After a long day, all I wanted was water.  I asked for a pitcher, and apparently there was not one behind the bar-the bartender had to go to a back room to get one.  I asked for a menu and was promptly given a strange look.  Guess the grill wasn't on today?  Oh, then I noticed it was a potluck lunch and everyone was to bring a dish.  Really, who does this?   Needless to say, as soon as the Packer game was over, we got out of there.  

Mondays weather was much better.  Jim had ridden the Hatchery Creek trail system and thought it would drain well, which was true.  The trail consisted of deep forest twisty fun rolling singletrack (need more adjectives?).  The trails also crossed the beginning of Saturdays race.  I saw the trails during previous races and always wondered about them.  I would definitely go back. We also rode a bit of the race course, which was kind of interesting since I was on my single speed mountain bike.

Eight Chequamegons in a row.  Its been a good tradition.  Its always nice to see my parents and friends I used to race with and against.  The Great North Woods of Wisconsin are always a good time, and I regret not exploring them more when I lived in Wisconsin.