A New Week and Critical Points

Today was the first of a series of three that will be kind critical, in that I need to make some key points, as well as increase climbing endurance.  This mornings ride will be the shortest, with tomorrow being a little longer.  Wednesday morning should be in the 4 hour range and will give me an idea how I've fared since my misadventure a few weeks ago.  If all goes as planned, the end of the week will be a big ride, but only if things go as planned.

At this point it is important that every ride meets a minimum threshold of some sort.  Along with that and equally important is the confidence factor.  Every ride needs to continue developing a real sense of confidence.  It doesn't take much to have a mental set-back.  There is no doubt; attitude is everything and early rides can sometimes be hard to get excited for when you have no confidence.

Trappers Loop to Snow Basin is always a good ride, as was today, but it is hard to keep driving a harder gear when you want to enjoy the vistas.  This morning was no exception, but the conditions were more ideal for riding hard than most days.  Overcast and cool most of the way, with a few gusts coming back down Trappers.  At that, I only put down about 26 ounces of liquid in three hours.  That certainly doesn't happen when the sun is beating on you.  Not too bad - for the most part.

A little lite nonsense to take you back.

Ride Hard!

Not a bad week and a fairly good day.........

Took a quick ride (3.5 hours) up SR 39 toward Monte Cristo yesterday morning.  I didn't have enough time to go all the way to the top, so I stopped at the spring just past MP 35.  An early start got me up South Fork Canyon in some pretty nice conditions.  A lot of traffic up to the Causey Dam turn-off, with still an occasional group of truck draggings "side-by-sides".  Still pretty nice. 

The ride back down is always fast, but seems to go on forever down in the canyon itself.  It gets kind of narrow with several limited sight distance corners and rises.  It only lasts about 4 miles, but when you're tired, it can seem a lot longer.  Once you get to MP23 (Camp Atoka) it does open up again and you can actually get cell service.  The cell service this is really kind of key when riding up there.  Once you get past Atoka going up, it's like going around the back side of the moon - you're pretty much on your own.  It is rather peaceful, but you have no chance of calling for a bailout.  More on Monte at a later time.....................

The stretch home, over the rollers and back into the north side of the valley is always a challenge.  Yesterday was no different.  Knowing you are going in, it is easy to become complacent and not drive as hard.  A close call with a hay wagon didn't help matters any.  The last four mile climb should be where I concentrate the most, but for some reason I tend to "milk it" home.  That is until the hill just below home.  With grades exceeding 10%, it's gonna make you pay every time.  Yesterday was no different and it took getting into the bailout gear right at the end to finish.

I wanted to get home early to go ice skating - believe it or not.  Worth the sacrifice, but it left me just a couple miles short of my weekly goal.

Next week I need to start a new segment of training and begin focusing on the discipline side of things.  The bike is starting to feel pretty good, with minor mechanical issues, but still pretty natural.  I still need to hit East Canyon this year, but I'm anxious to get over Monte.  It's all happening way too fast - again.

For now, enjoy a little Louis.  Kind of fitting for the morning ride.

What a Wonderful World

Ride hard!

Road Work

Boxers and fighters know all too well about road work.  It is often tedious and lengthy.  A couple weeks ago I had other commitments that kept me from riding for six days.  I was just getting comfortable enough to start serious climbing.  Upon getting back on my bike I did an early morning climb that is usually hard, but not to the point of frustration.  This didn't go well and kind of got in my head.  So..............hit the road.

This morning was my fifth morning of fairly hard, unrelenting riding on the road.  As with any "road work", you can milk it, or make it as hard as you want.  These rides where mostly all the same, a mix of quick hills, rollers, long flats, corner to corner sprints and so on.  This morning I pushed it a little harder, took all the hills along the way and started without any nutrition.  At 50 minutes I sucked on a single CLIFF Shot Block.  At the turn around point (Cemetery Point), I didn't slow down nearly as much as I usually do (they post it to only 10 MPH) and gassed it out from the gate to retrace my route back home.  At 95 minutes I put down another Shot Block and stayed in the harder gears back to Wolf Creek, up a quick 10% grade.  The last four miles home are always a struggle, with a constant grade pushing back the entire way.  Two little hills before the last tall grade make for an often brutal combination.  Because I need to really make large scale improvements, I again chose to take an extra mile loop with an exceptionally hard "spoke-bending" hill right at the end.  I was pretty wasted, having been on the bike, at rate, for three-hours non-stop.  It put me right on the edge of the dreaded "bonk".  A good finish for five sessions of road work.  I'll give it a B- for the past week.

Saturday is the return to extended climbing.  Not sure which way to go, but I'm kind of leaning toward Monte Cristo.

Peter Green sums it up nicely.  Enjoy the classic riff and trail-off.  "Oh Well"

 Click Here - Oh Well

Ride Hard..............................

Gotta Start Somewhere....................

Mid-Season and a lot to do.

Every year has it's struggles.  This year has been no different, trying to fight off another "five year curse", but I'm not superstitious.  I'm little behind on miles, dealing with a few minor mechanical issues and general conditioning...........well, there is a lot yet to do.  Fundraising is another story, but even more pathetic to date.

As always, there have been too many new reasons to join the fight with Huntsman Cancer, but I won't dwell on them this year - in the blog anyway.  It is still my personal motivation that I will keep to myself for the most part.  

Now that you are here, I will focus on the over weight, over aged, over ambitious sorry excuse for a bike rider, that is trying to train for the one big race of the year - LOTOJA (Logan To Jackson).  For some of you, this will be familiar as you may be a rider, or former rider yourself.  For others, it will be foreign, to the point of what may otherwise appear as self-deprecating stupidity.   Regardless, follow along with somebody who really has no business being on bicycle, trying to make it another successful year both riding and fundraising.

Blog Disclaimer

I'm not very good at this - any of it, whatever it is.  I'll do my best to make the pages easy to use and perhaps leave comments.  Be prepared; as a terrible writer I'm bound to drive many of you literary types crazy with my "pigeon" grammar.

To date I'm at a paltry 1200 miles, about 17 pounds over budget and lacking motivation.  The one advantage I do have at this point; a ton of experience.  Now I just need to plan, focus and execute.  Staying healthy is also key, like not over doing it, as I did tonight.  But like the underdog fighter that staggers back to the corner at the bell, after having the crap kicked out of him, would say; "I've got him just where I want him".

Ride hard..........................