The Thing About Monte

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A familiar place

Monte Cristo

If you know, then you know. Monte is an old friend - brutally honest at that. The climb starts out of Huntsville around 5,000 feet ASL. By the time you get to MP44, you are at just under 9,000 feet ASL. From MP44 to nearly MP50 you roll over the shoulders all above 8,900 feet. Nothing to fake here. The traffic is busier than it used to be, but still a great day - call it a long day. Coming off the top you are flying, as if you are still 12 years old. By the time you hit MP 35 near the Slate Spring, your are pedaling down hill to maintain 30+ MPH. You know the drill if you've followed this blog before. I love that ride, but hate the commitment and suffering that comes along with it.

Not a lot has changed in the last 45 years - aside from all the no trespassing signs along the way. It takes me back to far simpler times. Most places there isn't any cell service. There are places that you can see for ever - almost fifty years behind you if looking close enough. The season is too short when it comes to this place. Bear activity at the camp ground this year has created some problems, but there is still cold water at the hydrants. Unfortunately this week isn't going to allow much time to head back up there, but lets hope it pans out.

Upper Calf Creek Falls - Escalante

If you know, then you know....

A buddy of mine sent this to me this afternoon. The story is too much to go into at this point. I believe I did cover some of it a few years ago, but that's not for today. The changes are stunning, but the memories......those scars run deep. Going back sometimes is not as easy as one would want to believe. In fact, you can never really go back - anywhere. Still, the memory of what began there is haunting. That was the summer I first heard those words "I wish I didn't know now what I didn't know then". At the time it seemed filler, but as time rolled by - prophetic. The world was such a big place, so far away it seemed. We never realized how far we had ventured into the pool until it was too late. I will never forget the hope and dreams I had after that first trip. I had never felt the beatings of life like I have after this many years. Still.....my heart aches knowing what I do, versus what I didn't at that time. I wouldn't change a thing.

Promises made, lives were changed - or so it seemed.

Making Changes

Adapting to a few bike changes will keep me in the valley tomorrow. It will still be 104 miles with 4,000 feet of climbing. Full up 28mm R3's on the DT Swiss. The bars are rolled a bit forward with the hoods dropped. Back on the 172.5 crank arms, as the climbing demands the leverage against the slightly taller tires. Hoping the setup meets the need so I can get back over Monte Wednesday. LOTOJA is less than 2 weeks out. Donations are flat - like pretty much everything else this year. Honestly this may be it for the Porpoise and the old Six-13 both. The bike has over 40K miles and is not as fast as the new stuff. Technology has changed, but the bike is getting tired - as am I. Some metrics are okay, others....shite! Tomorrow will tell me a lot. Stick around.

Check back in a couple days. We need to see MP 44 on the fast end.....

Its hard to believe  - 22 years ago!

Click here for JT and Joe at Cross Roads 2004 "Stream Roller Blues"

Ride HARD!

There is not a substitute

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Sizing things up

Water getting low out at Pine View....

Meeting a struggle-head on is not always as easy as it sounds. The farther away you are from a task or situation, the easier it is to make it sound "doable".  And then the moment finally arrives and it is game time. In the end, you will never perform at "game time" any better than was done in practice. And since practice is where all the payment through pain and suffering happens, sometimes practice is what gets short changed. Meeting the struggle head-on begins with practice - developing one's character.  And character - well, that's another story. That often said it is what you do when nobody else is looking which defines true character. However, faced with the hard facts of a situation that may be harder than expected can lead to self-doubt - maybe even cowardice. A strong word, but true. Living to fight another day may not be cowardice, but make it a habit and there are no more battles to fight before you can change the character. At some point, you must meet it and remedy the matter - to your favor.

Not a cheat-code for everything

When panic sets in, it is human nature to find a quick and easy solution - a cheat-code perhaps. Cycling is no different, in fact very much like everything else in life. The bicycle industry is constantly having to reinvent themselves to stay relevant. Sure bike tech has improved, but in some areas, not as much as they'd have you think. Frame geometry, tire width, wheel sets - they all have seen major changes over the years. Perhaps the most notable changes for road bikes in the past five years have been disc brakes and electronic shifters. Those are legit, but not necessarily obsoleting the previous tech. Disc and calipers are more expensive to purchase and maintain. Performance wise they do stop better in adverse conditions, but they typically won't make you faster. I've caught myself in that vey situation, making changes to offset losses in other areas. I've tried slightly shorter crank-arms, cleat positions - even wider tires. That seems to be the latest - wider tires with lower pressures. The past 8 years or so I've been rolling on 25mm wide versus the 23mm. I've recently been rolling on 28mm, which is as large as my bike can take. The tires are a bit taller as well, which reduces my gearing by a little bit. Is it faster? Dunno. What I do know is the tire itself has a huge impact on everything. The trainers I use are a heavy and robust all season that I know a couple guys have used during LOTOJA. The rolling resistance is much worse than the higher end tires I use, that just dont last as long. At the end of the day you do everything needed to be successful, but paying your dues doesn't change a thing. If you don't make those payments, expectations should be in line with that result.

Don't mention yesterday

For fear of screwing up my "plans", with less than three weeks to go, I won't mention anything about yesterday - only to say it was a disaster. My initial inclination is that I'm a coward. My hope is that I'm more methodical about the situation at hand and can build on a bad situation. We are approaching critical mass and there is no room for error. That said, I can clearly see a pathway to success, but it is very specific and can bare no margin. In short, I can't chicken out and have to accept the suffering that comes with this commitment. With this in mind, updates will be a bit more frequent between now and packet pickup. Milestones have to be met. Stick around and see how it goes.....

Farther Down the Line

Lyle is a wordsmith of sorts. He can tell a story - as well he should being an A&M alum. He tells the story of a young cowboy that almost makes it to the buzzer, but gives up. "one hand around the other"...."letting the pickup man come in". Making that grab that says I've had enough - come and get me. "He sure drew a bad one" - "one nobody could ride", the consul that tries to make a bad situation seem more than anyone could handle. "Better luck next time" as if a next time always comes through, but we know eventually they all come to an end. At the end of the day, this is really about all of us, and especially myself. We never really know how close we are to the buzzer when we put one hand around the other - only until we ride it out. "Push will always come to shove, in that midnight rodeo".

Lets hear it for that young cowboy......

Click here for Lyle Lovett "Farther Down the Line"

Ride HARD!

Gut Check - The Truth

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"She's running low Skipper!"

Owning it

When is it ever enough to simply recognize a problem? I'm talking about inner reflection and examination. I've become pretty good at identifying problems, particularly those of my own making. I can even go as far as prescribing a remedy. That is the easy part - call it "arm-chair quarterbacking" at it's core. Implementing the remedy is the hard part, but not yet the most difficult. Many a diet or exercise program has been started with only the best of intentions. But it is the follow through that matters the most. Sure starting is a milestone and even making it through the first milestone period, but what about the assessment and follow up? Lets face it, we've mastered the first few steps toward success; 1) Identify the problem, 2) Develop a solution (plan), 3) Execute said solution..... but we often end there. After implementation of the plan, it is necessary to reassess and evaluate - then repeat the cycle with modifications as needed. When not completing this cycle (honestly), it is only a cruel joke of self gratification - LYING to myself! Lying to ones self if not a healthy habit.

Success: Knowing it when you see it

It would seem we recognize what  is perceived as "success" by simple observation. I suggest this is merely a perceived result of what we may believe to be success. True success in its absolute form is what cannot be readily seen. To succeed requires more than what can be observed in passing. People who succeed do more than persevere, they live IT non-stop. So....what is IT? Let's narrow  this down to two fundamental things; What you do in your "down time" and how you control appetites and passions. What you see when observing a perceived successful person, is merely the result of these two things. What is it they do on their "day off", or when they get a break? How do they manage their personal passions and appetites? Do they get caught up is endless "doom scrolling", binge eat potato chips, take extended afternoon naps (because they can)? You get the picture. What we don't see is the real success  - the things that really matter.

Maximizing your gift of time

Time is a funny thing. Kind of a commodity, but everyone has the same allotment every day - 24-hours to be exact. It is irrevocable and non-refundable at the same time - until it ends. And then it doesn't matter anymore. Until that point, success is determined by what is done with that allotted time. It's not luck. If you want to be lucky, set yourself up to be lucky - and no, buying a a lottery ticket doesn't count. Ask yourself at any given moment;  how will this particular thing that I'm doing at this particular moment appear as my outward appearance. Does it truly represent me and what I want to be, or will it keep me from exhibiting my success. And by exhibiting, I do me achieving that level of success that is yours to be had. Time is a gift. Make the most of it and yourself together.

Overcoming

Our bodies are pretty amazing machines. Again, another gift in itself. But man, talk about a wild mustang. We are wired with some pretty intense motivations - lacking a better description. We have these appetites and our own passions. We become conditioned to want things we really don't otherwise need. Left unchecked, this conditioning leads us into a deficit with our own regard. We focus on the wrongs things - and by wrong I mean those things we had once set out as desires and goals. Weight gain is brought about one potato chip at a time (what's with the potato chips). It is the same for everything. Staying focused is key. Watch a video of a carrier aircraft pilot landing on the "boat". They quite often won't even so much as blink while trying to "stick it". Yet, we too often take our eye off "the prize", if even for just a few seconds. Back to that body thing again, it tends to go where we are looking.  Sure, enjoy life and the beauty of our surroundings, but keep your eyes forward while in motion. And motion....well that is another matter. Keep moving forward toward the objective. Moments of distraction and weakness slowly add up to a variation in course. The key is to master that wild mustang. Learning to control your machine is the second key component to individual triumph.

Assessment

Assess, plan, execute, reassess - the loop of virtually any progress. It seems we are generally pretty good with an initial assessment and even a plan. Execution sometimes becomes a struggle as we tend to be overly ambitious toward our end result. Breaking down a task into smaller individual components. keeps things real. The 1% rule speaks directly to this (improving by only 1% each day). However, the ongoing assessment is too often omitted from the day to day operation. You will have victories as well as setbacks. In both cases a reassess, own it - all of it. There may be times when the setbacks simply stack up and the victories seem a distant mirage. We also can't control everything in our sphere, but we can control how we react. When execution doesn't yield the desired results, assess and replan. Doing it the same way over and over, expecting a different result is literally stupid. Learn from your mistakes and be better for them. The darn things certainly have cost you a lot in this process - learn from them and maximize the sunk cost. It ain't coming back. Close that loop but don't throw away the investment. Study your failure - the enemy. Return for the next battle with a sharper edge. Providing there is still time on the game clock, reassess and return for another victory.

To whom.....

So this really is for nobody but me. Writing things down is an absolute way to internalize almost anything. My problems aren't necessarily the same as anyone else's. However, we all struggle and can learn from other peoples success and mistakes. We make our own way eventually - like it or not. But here's the thing, as some point we all have to own up to our life's decisions. The choice to to deflect and deny, wear it like a gravy stain, or simply make the most of it toward being the bet version of ourselves. Everything has a price. You pay for your mistakes as well as success. Cash in every once in a while...

Click here for "El Becko" - Jeff at his finest!

Ride HARD!

Know your Role

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A Morning Ride through the Dirt

The Big Picture

I ran across this field early one morning this past week. The picture certainly doesn't do it justice. A field with perhaps millions of flower blossoms that collectively make up a sea of wonder. The morning was very peaceful as well. It is often these moments that get taken for granted, where I may continue to ride by. The outbound through this location is a subtle grade - maybe 3%, on dirt. It makes for a good opportunity to push hard until hitting some oil maybe 12 minutes along. It's not a place I would ordinarily stop as I try to make the most of that stretch. All too often while riding, I blow past stuff thinking how I should have stopped for a quick picture. As the season goes on, priorities have to be kept making it not feasible. Over the many years, I have recorded countless images in my own mind that are nearly impossible to share. These personal memories are often what keeps me going.

The ideal course...for now

The 52-mile out & back elevation profile

Traffic and construction in various locations across the upper valley have limited my course selection this season. By now, three-hour fasting rides have to be second nature. The elevation profile above shows what has become my "go to" out & back, with 2,000 feet of climbing over 52-miles. It's not anything close to a tempo ride - far from it. The first climb is a great location to get the heartrate up followed by a very fast descent. Then on to the highway where speed over rollers takes focus. The dirt section slows things down, followed by a little kick over the bridge for some fast flowing down hill. Back on the highway and through the roundabout up to SR 39 - that familiar stretch that I have ridden countless times over the years. A loop around the south side past the monastery and finally finding my way (the long way) out to the point. A quick loop and it is all in reverse order going back. What was hard outbound is somewhat easier going home. And what was easy becomes....a challenge. The goal is to do this without putting a foot down. To build a little mental toughness, a turn up the training hill before going home adds to the excitement. Total moving time is a bit short of 3.5 hours, with an average speed...not quite where I want to be. Keep in mind that conditions are seldom the same from day to day. Therefore, the overall average speed isn't the objective, as much as the task of not putting a foot down. Everything else will take care of itself - in time.

Stand out

One small stand that has escaped the fence - standing out

Being part of the collective can have some advantages. Call it strength in numbers, or simple comfort. The importance of being unique and standing out on your own is tremendously important. Afterall, it is the individual strength in us all that bring things together. Never under estimate the importance of your own position in anything. Stand outside that fence and be you, doing you. Make an individual difference and don't settle for being lost in the sea of wonder. There are those times that together we are greater than the sum of our parts, but you have to begin with great parts.

Complacency

Complacency will kill you - one way or the other. I learned the hard way about talking myself into believing I didn't need to put in all the hard work and effort. Sometimes I would underestimate the task and believe it to be far easier than it truly was. That never ended well. I believe it is somewhat human nature to be easily lulled into a sleep of forgetfulness, having already known the hardship that await us. You've got to be real and recognize those things that will hold you back before it is too late. Hard work and effort have to be commensurate with the desired result. As stupid as it sounds, even Joey Chestnut trains to be the world champion hotdog eater that he is. Nothing is easy. If it is....it simply can't be real.

Key milestones this week

With only three weeks until the Cache Century, it is time for some serious road climbing. The key will be setting up for success, while not giving in to the temporary pain. Suffering is a choice, but it is necessary to meet the objective.

Here's one back when Clapton stopped by to work with The Blues Breakers - and the "Beano Burts" '59 Gibson.

Click here for a lesson in the basic blues.

Ride HARD!