Prep Day

A little better look at Ben Lomond from last nights MTB ride

 Picked up the packet last night and completed check-in.  Conditions look to be.........whatever they will be.  At this point its all about execution, discipline and luck.

Had a new chain put on the Six13 this afternoon.  Apparently I rode more and harder than I thought.  Swapped out one tire with another R3.  Swapped out the seat-wedge (tool bag) with the smaller one for the race.  Attached the frame number and a quick lube and minor check........ready to ride.

I won't bore you with the usual "night before" details.  You can go back and look at one of the last couple of years.  I'm very nervous as usual.  There is soooo much that can happen, and that much more that has to happen.  I know there are a handful of very fast, very good riders in my group.  I'm hoping I can find a group that fits my effort and stay with them.

I think I've over caffeinated the past couple of years.  This year I plan to simplify my nutrition and feeding.  I'll carry two Ensure Plus out of each feed zone, including the start. Two Gu's under my cuffs for emergency energy.  A couple bananas early.  Pineapple at Afton.  Cinnamon bears, fruit snacks and Cliff Blocks in my left pocket - all the time.  Hydration will be almost exclusively Power Ade, with maybe a mix of Cytomax and Tang.  Pickle juice at all three support stops, with an 8 oz Redbull in the pocket for Hoeback junction and maybe one out of Montpelier.  I'm figuring an average of 800 calories an hour, which is hard to replenish.

Overall, I'm excited, but more, I'm impressed with all the support that has rolled in, over the past few days.  I'm overwhelmed and somewhat worn down by everything.  It will be good to get past this one.  Thanks for showing up - again.

Be sure to stop by tomorrow morning for a little something to make you smile.  Please pass it along after you do.

It's okay to turn this one up to 11..............

Click here "KEEP THE FAITH!"

Keep it!

Last minute details...........

See the explanation below

Assessment

Time is running short, so tonight I took the road bike out for a quick tempo ride.  This is traditionally where I get my last look at all the critical equipment - myself included.  I didn't like the way the bike was shifting, but other than that, it ran fast.  My overall time was two full minutes faster than last year, with lower heart rates all around.  This was compared to my tempo ride almost exactly one year ago to the minute.  A few edges to knock off, but for the most part, I know where I'm at........ oh boy.

Important stuff  - Read This!

So, the image above is kind of where it all started several years ago.  If you recognize the name, go to the donation tab and see the relationship (even if you choose not to donate).  The year before this picture was taken, I first decided to ride for Huntsman.  I think it was my fifth year riding LOTOJA - or something like that.  If I remember, it was early that summer when I decided to send and email out to as many relatives as I could find contact information.  It was shortly after that, I learned my cousin Mindy had been diagnosed with a brain tumor.  Some type of cancer anyway.  So I struggled through that year and made it work.  The next year I started the "Porpoise" with great designs and ideas - what did I know?  It kind of sputtered...........okay, was barley getting any views.  The night before the race, I was pinning my number on my jersey and spontaneously had the idea to write her name on my left sleeve.  I was riding a men's Cat V, that started just about 07:30 in the morning.  Just before I rolled to the line, I had my support crew take this picture and send it to my sisters - since I don't do the social media thing.  That race was brutal and having that on my sleeve was a reminder of what it means to suffer for something beside myself.  It kept me focused.  That was Saturday.  The following Monday morning I got word she had lost her fight with the "big-C".  I'll leave it there..............

Whether it is for Melinda, Marion (her husband that also was taken by cancer the next year), Jill, John, or Hadley "my hero", it is why I ride.  It is why I need your support - whatever you may have to give.  As I've said before, if you can't give to this cause, buy a cup of soup for that guy on the corner.  Help an elderly neighbor.  Whatever it is, give to make a difference.  Do it while you can, because you can.

What to expect........

Tomorrow is packet pickup and registration.  The next post will be Friday, with some details of the pending race plan.  A special Post Saturday morning, as a gift from the "Porpoise" to everyone that checks in.  I promise, it will make you smile.

Click on this one and Enjoy the moment........

Ride HARD!

Details

Bike mechanic

Gave the road bike a good cleaning and going over yesterday.  I need to get out for a solid tempo ride to check all the details.  Last night was a pretty good mountain bike ride over Mules Ear.  I had set my goal to knock a solid 4 minutes off my best time registered on the Garmin.  Pretty darn close, less than 30 seconds off my target.  Still, my heart rate wasn't nearly as high as I'd hoped and my fatigue was only marginal.  So why didn't I beat my time?  Good question.  The climb to the summit was the fastest I've ever climbed it, but I had to back-off on the descent.  The north side trail is getting pretty chewed up, making it too risking to go "full wide open".  I still think I could beat the time I was after, but that will have to wait until after race day.

Prep notes

Talking to one of the other riders this afternoon, we were comparing notes.  Funny how nobody ever seems to be ready for race day.  I was reading one of my previous riding logs from 2013.  The night before packet pickup, I had written "ready as ever".  That was on top of 2500+ miles and a ton of preparation.  Since then, I've never quite felt up to the task.  Last year with the broken flipper, I really felt lacking.  This year I haven't kept track of any road miles, and only rides with my Garmin.  I only made to Woodruff three times this year, down from previous years, but I have a ton more intensity rides with the mountain bike.  At this point, it doesn't matter.  You have what you'll have race day.  The one thing I have is considerable experience.  If I can keep my mind straight, I can make a lot of things happen, but race day has many a "dark place".

Lessons Learned

I've also been reviewing my ride nutrition and hydration.  I'm pretty sure the past three years I've taken in way too much caffeine along the ride.  I need to go back to some basics and throttle back the caffeine early and stay to a predetermined amount at key points.  I was watching some videos of other guys riding LOTOJA and noticed everyone carrying pockets full of stuff they weren't using.  Huh, that's exactly what I do.  This year I'll go with some basics and keep things simple.  I'll also minimize how much I'll consume in the feed zones.  That is always a killer.  You eat way too much, which sends a bunch of blood to the wrong places and then try to make things work.  A solid recipe for the "bonk".  Figuring a burn rate of something like 800 calories an hour on average, it is simply not wise to expect to consume that in a feed zone, all at once.  I can manage 600 calories an hour intake while on the bike, with a little to make up at the feed zones.  After the first three hours, everything you started the race on is gone.  After about five hours, there is no time, nor energy for digestion.  You pretty much have to go straight into the blood stream.  At about eight hours, you need the extra kick - caffeine.  At that point you are on the edge of the bonk - all the time.  Upset stomach, lack of energy, maybe cramping - there is a lot to manage and over come.

Donations

Hats off to my bro Greg and his better half.  As they have done in the past, they came through for the "Porpoise".  So.........he not a bro on the tree, but one that I have learned a lot of life's lessons from over the years.  Still a guy I'm lucky to call a true friend.  Thanks man!

Stick around.

Click Here - "Living in the USA" Somebody get me a cheese burger!

Ride HARD!

The right ride.........

......for the right day

There are times you just seem to have the rigfht ride for the right day.  And boy, does it matter.  There are so many things that have to align - and this year, I've seemed to have had my fair share of them.

Still the greatest ride ever

The 1989 Tour de France final time trial was exactly that.  Greg LeMond (a freaking stud!) had been off the tour for two years from a hunting accident, following his incredible and improbable win in '86.  At this final stage, he is literally only 50 seconds behind the leader, after 21 days and a couple thousand miles of racing.  Most people still don't know that he has something like 35 - 40 lead pellets still in his body - in very dangerous places.  With that setup, watch this video of that final race. 

I don't care what anyone says.  He was "bread and water" (clean) and still an inspiration.

Click Here for the most amazing thing in cycling

Kind of gives "Ride HARD" a different meaning.......

Bring it on home

Last look at this sign for 2019 - at least on the bike......

Making it work

I had planned to ride Woodruff Tuesday, but was still pretty "gummed-up" after the hot weekend.  Modifications to the schedule did put me back on the dirt for some shorter "soaks" with higher intensity stuff.  Frankly, I have a hard time getting my heart rate up on long solo rides.  I either need to do sprint intervals, or just get on the dirt.  Yesterday morning was a pretty intense dirt ride, but also pretty relaxing - if you can have one with the other.  Nobody on the trails, and ieal conditions to put a good burn on the cardio.  After talking to my buddy down the road, it became clear - I needed one last hard ride over the top.

Last minute decision to go....

The ride out this morning was warmer than the last few week weeks.Stupid head-wind well past Red Cliff really made it difficult.  Still, good cloud cover nearly all the way over.  At the top, I still had one full water bottle and maybe a third of the other, so I didn't stop at the camp ground.  I lost about 3 minutes from my previous attempts, passing the camp ground, but was almost spot on at the snow-gate.  In town, I did manage to makeup about a minute overall, but could sense the winds already changing direction for the effort back.  Took a few extra minutes at the store to answer a few messages, but then got right back on the road.  Pretty much like last go around, dang wind right from the second I hit the road.  There were times in the canyon it blew so hard I had to go to the bailout gear.  As much as it hurt, I stayed on it until the camp ground - where I stopped for water.  I didn't have a full bottle, but I new I had a head-wind going down and would likely catch the heat - don't take any chances.  Sure enough, I fought the wind all the way back.  Using the DT Swiss wheel-set has been a tremendous advantage in the wind.  My RXL set with the bladed spokes simple gets blown around too much.  The brakes were literally wide open almost all the way down. I was so tired, I just wanted to put a fork in it.  The wind coming up South Fork was unbelievable.  I was having to go into the drops to duck out of the wind.  Even out of the canyon, it was a struggle.  The overall time wasn't to great, but it did instill some confidence. With just over a week to go, there will be no more of that nonsense.  Maybe a couple tempo rides on the road bike, but some short, fairly intense dirt rides.  May be a couple early morning spins downstairs before work.  Just maintenance at this point.

Looking out toward the Uinta Range, Just before hitting it hard going home.

Monte/Woodruff

I love Monte and the times I get to visit with the people in Woodruff.  This year was a little short on the number of visits, as well as the time chatting, but it is a place like no other for me.  It's always a little melancholy when I know it is the last ride over there for the year.  We typically come home from the race going that way, but it seems so different just driving through on a quiet Sunday afternoon.  Thanks to the truly awesome people in Woodruff.  I can't say enough, nor be complete......so I'll leave it at that.

More to come this week

Should be posting most every day for the next week.  We've gotta fire up the donation machine - before it's too late.

Thanks Kerry

So, I texted my buddy, who is truly an inspiration.  I told him it was either shame, or inspiration that pushed me over that mountain today ( thanks for keeping my head screwed on straight).  I don't know, but maybe I just wanted to make this post with the link that I can never use other wise.

Bring it on Home - Click it  You only get to use this when you finish the year doing it right.

Ride HARD!

Getting close........

Cemetery Point - Pine View Reservoir

A big week

A big week it was.  After the ride to Woodruff on Monday, I was looking at some serious heat on Wednesday, so I decided to do some early morning road intervals instead.  A decent 50 miles before work, using the Garmin to record results.  A couple mountain bike rides for good measure and I was ready for what should have been an assessment ride on Saturday.  Turns out, Saturday was a pretty good training ride.

Cache Valley Century

The Cache Century is a charity ride, to help people with disabilities enjoy the out of doors.  At the check-in this go around, I was greeted by one of my many nieces.  Shouldn't surprise me, as her family has a particular interest in this type of event.  Still, I was very apprehensive getting ready to go.  I had set my sights on a specific time, and the need to ride most of the day with fast groups.  The course had changed quite a bit this year, as one town refused to let the event pass through.  I should have paid closer attention, as it would prove to be somewhat costly in the end.  Groups going out early weren't too fast, but still a comfortable pace.  Getting out toward Preston, Idaho, we had maybe 30 people, pulling two abreast at times.  Most everybody stopped at Preston, while I just looked for the next group to leave.  Looking at the elevation chart below, you can see where we dropped into the river bottoms just before Dayton hill.  As expected, I let the main body gap me just before the turn off of the hill.  That was followed by another smaller hill that allowed them to spread a gap on me.  Over the top, I slid into the drop-bars and pushed it hard for about five miles trying to catch the group.  Little did I know there was about a dozen riders on my wheel enjoying the fast pace.  I flew through the next rest stop and headed for a little climb just before Newton.  As expected (again), I let the main group go, thinking they would "water" at Newton Park (only a couple minutes away). When I pulled in, there was another group already down the road, but for some reason, I decided to swing back toward Newton Dam.  Looking at the elevations below, that is the "hump" at the 50 mile area.  Turns out, I didn't need to go that way and had just over five miles and some good grinding before I turned back at Trenton Hill.  I gassed it back to the park and caught another group going out.  Jumping between groups, I made it to Mendon - on just a bit more than one bottle of water.  Overall time wasn't too bad, but had spent more time than planned on my own. Quickly back on the road, I was either too fast for a couple groups, or too tired to hang on to others.  I stayed with a train for a few miles, until we got to Cache Junction.  Coming off the bridge, I had let them go and was on my own for the next five miles, climbing to Clarkston.  By then, I was feeling the effects of lactic acid buildup.  The quads would fire and I was spent.  I took a couple minutes at Clarkston and considered taking a direct path back to Richmond, that would still give me 100 miles.  It would have put me close to my target, but I elected to go around.  One final mistake was going straight to Lewiston, instead of cutting back to the south.  This meant I would be completely alone, not that it mattered at that point.  Once onto Highway 91, I was facing a hot and stiff headwind.  Five of the longest miles I could imagine.  A ton of exposure and no help - a bad idea, but I made it in.  Only riding with groups about 35% of the time.  That can't happen at LOTOJA.

When all was said and done, I had just over 110 miles, with my average heart rate at 82%.  Total time was 6h-40m, with a bike time of just under 6h 14m.  The last 10 miles set the overall rolling time back a bit.  Still, not a bad day.  Just not what I had planned.

A minor irony, as my rider number in this event was remarkably similar to my assigned LOTOJA frame and bib number.  Huh.......

A lot to do this week, and the nerves are getting the better of me - again.

Stick around.......

Click here - Takin' care of business

Ride HARD!

Back over the top

SR 39 West Bound, MP 43 "Little Monte" looking toward Mt. Timpanogas

Another cool start, but not nearly as cold as last week  Still, the toes were cold for a long time.  I "reeled-in"  another rider just out of Huntsville.  I took the pull up to the first roller, about 5 miles up.  I wasn't ready to stay on his wheel so I let him go, only to catch him about a mile up farther.  We took turns out front until he peeled-off for Causey.  Thanks Spencer! You are a stud!

Time to the top was pretty good, much better than last week.  I made some adjustments to the saddle and post to get a better angle for climbing before leaving this morning.  Don't ask me why, but I seriously dream bout that sort of "thing".  It seemed to work quite well, but I need to make an adjustment to my cleats.  One thing at a time.  The overall time into Woodruff was about what I had hoped.  Dang wind was wreaking havoc most of the way into town.  Another quick turn, and it was immediately back into the wind.  Stupid wind fought me all the way back.  I serious struggled to get to the top.  Add to that, I decided to take only two water bottles.  Yup, bone dry by the time I got back to the camp ground.  The ride off the top was hard all the way down.  The wind was right in the snout all the way.  Last week I was pegging near 50 MPH through Ant Flat Road, today 35 MPH while peddling.  The last nutrition was a Gu and some fruit-snacks about an hour from the top.  No surprise, I bonked and HARD, at the top - again.  By the time I got home, I was physically sick and had to lay down for about an hour.  I lost nearly six pounds since this morning - not good. (Not that I don't need to lose the mass).

I need to evaluate Wednesday closely.  The Cache Valley Ride on Saturday is a critical metric.  I have a specific time to meet, to determine my overall condition for the race.  I still need the endurance, but can't risk a good showing on Saturday.  What to do................

As bad as the return was, the drop into Rich County was still pretty good.  I cleared the distance from the Camp Ground (MP 47.5)to the Snow gate (MP 55.5) in twelve minutes.  Talk about serious business! The overall to MP67 (Woodruff) was just under 41 minutes - fighting the wind.  Something about riding fast, with nobody around.............  53+ MPH with the chin on the bars.

You know fast - Click here!

Don't PUKE!
Ride HARD!  Holly crap..........