Pushing the Bonk

Progress in larger blocks.....

What started out as a fairly warm day, suddenly turned a little cool by the time I got the road bike out.  Normally by now I' stringing a bunch of little rides together, with little if any stress.  Alo by now I've got at least one full century in the books - albeit an easy one at that.  Morning workouts and mountain bike rides when time is otherwise limited, has really helped.  Tonight, I set my sights on SR39, heading toward Monte Cristo.  As late as the start may have been, I still managed to get a solid 50 miles, turning at just over 6,000 feet.  

I didn't wear the Garmin, but I know it pretty well.  I estimate the total climb to be around 2,000 feet - start to finish.  Roughly 3 hours, without a stop at a fairly constant rate, I'd put it over 1800 calories, maybe over 2000 calories.  Just long enough that I caught the very front end of the "Bonk" just as I rolled into the garage.  I couldn't have planned it any better.  This means I was right to the very threshold and was pushing it just past my limits.  This is good.  I'll need to do this a dozen more times in the next two months, with a bunch of miles in between.  Not easy.

Still, commitments that are taking my time, including a business trip.  Fortunately, my foot is good enough to start doing hotel gym workouts.  The next two weeks are critical, with key milestones.

Stay tuned.......

'79 was a pretty good year - Carlos

Ride HARD!

Schedules and Demands

It seems to be getting harder...........

The above elevations are of a pretty good training ride.  You can see the grades I have to overcome when heading home every time, but check out the spoke bender in the middle.  Tha's right above the spillway at Causey reservoir.  I have literally busted spokes on that climb.  All things considered, the overall 48-mile ride wasn't too bad considering the circumstances.  Another week and I'll be onto some longer sustained climbs.

Scheduling is becoming a problem.  Everyone has demands and it just doesn't seem to be getting any better.  Add to that, the heat........  I need a solid four weeks and I'm not sure how I'll make it happen.  Add to all of this the lack of traction in fundraising.  It's getting pretty depressing.  I'll figure it out.  Until then, I really need to focus and be diligent.  Right now would be very easy to throw in the towel, but that ain't gonna happen.  Give it another week and I'll have an improvised plan.

Until then, the updates will continue to be sparse, as I have a ton of commitments in the next ten days.  Until then................

Listen to the music

Ride HARD!

This is gong to take a while..............

Slow going

Finally, a road ride.  I tired an assessment ride earlier in the week - 41 miles in the heat and wind.  2.5 hours without stopping and it was a struggle.  Normally by now, I can ride a solid 3+ hours at rate, without stopping, but not this year.  The one-hour mountain rides have resulted in some leg strength and a little stamina, but not much in overall endurance.  Still, it is progress.

Having problems standing.  Some pressure on the forward center part of my right foot really slows me down.  After stopping, the very place in the ankle where the break was, begins to ache.  Gettin on the road bike was very foreign, but it kind of came back after an hour.  Overall times for the first 90 minutes was about where I'd expect.  The overall performance was pretty weak.

Fundraising isn't happening at anywhere near the rate I'd hoped.  I supposed I'll have to try something a little different.  I'm about half of what I'd planned.  Must mean execution is lacking, or my plan was bad.  Need to figure it out - soon.

461 always takes me back.  This one is kind of easy. Click here Clapton - "Please be with me"

I'm trying - Ride HARD

Slow Going

Still, no road miles......

A combination of weather, road traffic, and schedule have made it hard to get back on the road bike. Mixing it up on the mountain bike is making for some pretty good cardio, with a little leg strength, but I need to get used to the road saddle.  Normally by this time of an average year, I can manage a 42-mile loop without having to stop.  Endurance is one thing, but there is always a little "learning curve" when overcoming posture fatigue.  It'll come.

The training schedule will definitely be different this year as Trappers Loop will be under construction all summer.  This will mean limited rides to East Canyon and Morgan, but worst of all, my regular late season rides to Snow Basin will likely get cut back.  Generally, by about August, I can do a quick 50-something mile with a few thousand feet of climbing - all before going to work.  I'll figure something out.

Speaking of work, that place is really starting to get to me.  After a long day at the office today, I really couldn't muster the interest in another dirt ride.  After all, I seem to be losing ground.  It was too windy with a chance of rain, to consider a road ride.  After having my tail kicked at the office today (again), I decided I needed a little break.  Being ups since 03:00 didn't help much either.  A good hour on the spin bike was suitable for the occasion.  I did a little routine this morning as well, but nothing too hard.  Tonight was basically speed intervals.  I've been asked what I listen to when riding the spin bike.  It all depends; if you need a way fast cadence - MotorHead.  If you need a super fast cadence - throw in a little "Girl School" with MotorHead.  Truth is, I can only take so much MotorHead (sorry Lemmy).  Generally, I just leave it on shuffle and take what comes along.  Spinning is spinning.

Way back, I used to spend my evenings over at the football field, kicking a bag of footballs.  I'd then do a pretty intense stair workout.  By the time I'd walk home, it would be dark.  I'd be so worked up from the intense stair workout, I often couldn't sleep for hours.  Back in the day when FM radio was the "thing" I'd catch a station that didn't have any commercials and would play the deepest tracks. There for hours, or so it seems, listening to the very low volume, crystal clear signal, that seemed to be from somewhere far away.  You could listen for weeks on end and never hear the same thing twice.  Funny; as complicated as things seemed to be at that time, they were truly simple times.  There is this one number by Peter Green (before he lost it) that was almost haunting.  Funny thing, it was never cut in multi-track, which made it even more mysterious - in a way.

Click and listen to the entire Part one and two.....

 Ride HARD!

Progress

More trail riding................

Usually, by now, I've been stacking 40+ mile road-rides.  Weather and other factors are not working in my favor.  So...........more dirt riding.  That said, the trails are pretty good and getting a pretty good workout, albeit kind of short.  What I miss on time, I try to make up on the spin bike with regular interval sessions.  That with some other conditioning sessions seem to be helping.  The key is that every minute has to count.  Using the Garmin keeps it honest.  What I lack in time can be made up in intensity.

The flipper feels better some days than others.  Finally able to stand and pedal, but can't really sprint - yet.

Took a look at some Youtube stuff from 2018 True Grit.  Kind of a bummer, but looking at the terrain, I could have easily crashed much worse there than where I did.  Small consolation.  Still, it made me pretty anxious to do it next year.  That with other little things, here and there, seems to get me going - but I've got a long way to go.

The campaign should kick-off in earnest this week.  Just waiting for a few things from the printers and then.....................

Here's a little something I ran across a while ago. Click to enjoy a little IZ - RIP Bro............

Pain is temporary.  Ride HARD!

Familiar Dirt

Mules Ear

Home early enough to get a quick ride up and over Mules Ear. Not a bad little tune up ride under normal conditions.  Not nearly as technical as the stuff I was riding in January and February, but a pretty good burn.  1006 feet of climbing, enough to get the heart rate up for a while.  A little slower than I'd expect, but then again, I'm not anywhere near 100%.

The trail is in pretty good shape considering how much rain we've had lately.  Still, the run-off is pretty low - like way dry.  No bueno!  I think I need to knock about 10 minutes off this one before I can feel comfortable.  Maybe a couple more weeks.

Still haven't been on the road bike this year.  We'll see what the next few days bring.

BTW - Thanks to the totally awesome VB for the muy generous donation.  A dang good guy and the best engineer I know.

Click on this one: Clear as the Driven Snow - The Brothers!

Ride HARD!

Return to the scene of the Crime

Not the Best of ideas

Saturday afternoon I had a little spare time, so I thought I'd try to get a ride in between rain showers.  I started by just getting the mountain bike back to the dirt and before you'd know it, I'm climbing up the single track at the south side, near the north side of Ogden Canyon.  Admittedly, this wasn't the best of my recent ideas.  The trail is generally quite confined with little room for error.  Still, I needed to start somewhere.

I was being careful, as I know this trail fairly well.  This particular part I've not seen for about ten weeks.  I stopped at the little spots that would be technical and walked through, which turns out wasn't smart.  I soon realized how easy I could damage my ankle again - even while walking.  After getting through the less technical side, I took more risk by going into a far more difficult section.  About halfway through, I decided to take the first trail down, which was also pretty steep.  What started off with a "charge" quickly turned into "I'll sit this one out".

All the stopping and walking gave me a chance to take in the vistas that I used to take for granted.  Plenty of indications the Rattler's have been out.  A couple more weeks of warm to hot weather and there will be enough snakes on the trail to make it not worthwhile.  Play it by ear for now.  Colder weather at the moment is a great time to go wander these trails.  Pretty spectacular.

Easy riding back to the base, I'm quickly realizing how little confidence I have in the dirt (and rocks).  Maybe next week will be a good time to get on the road.

I've developed a pattern of starting out fast and hard and slowing way down.  It's kind of like a Robin Trower piece - up-tempo and hard, slow and deliberate to the end.

Try a little Trower from a long time ago. A stitch in time.......I think I'll sit this one out.

Patience!  Ride HARD