You never know what to expect

Wow! What a change from a few weeks ago......

The smoke actually cleared out overnight, making today the obvious choice to have a big ride - Woodruff of course.  Checking the forecast the night before made it appear to be a "typical" Woodruff ride; headwinds both directions, some heat with "a thunderstorm around".  Getting out about 30 minutes behind schedule, I was riding with a sense of urgency for the first couple hours.  The wind in South Fork posed a minor issue, but times to key point were pretty good. A minor adjust on the bike, jumping to the small ring up front a little sooner, and running a set of R3's rather than the Vitorias from last week.  It all seemed to pay-off as thing were pretty good, if not a bit routine.

About 10 miles out of Woodruff, I saw a rabbit (another rider) up ahead.  Amazingly, I didn't see him earlier.  Perhaps he'd flatted and just got back on his bike.  It only took a few minutes and I "reeled him in", then blew right past him.  Looked like a long distance tourist type. After negotiating some road space from a bunch of cows, I was able to make it into town fairly fast.  The last half of the descent was a little tricky with strong wind gusts out of the north - not forecasted.  Just before hitting town, lighting starts hitting all over the place.  I decided to hang around for a little while - until things improved.  About 15 minutes after I pulled in, the other guy I passed strolled in.  Come to find out, he was from Cincinnati and had dropped off a van for some heavy modifications.  He left SLC Monday and was just out seeing the area for the week while they worked on his outfit.  He also rode for a charity - a children's hospital in his area.  Not long after, things looked clear, so I thought it best to get over the mountain before it changed again.

Up to the top in pretty fast order (wind and all), it was still pretty cool and I was feeling rather confident.  I was certain today was going to be a complete ride with some extra climbing at the end.  As I headed across the top of Monte, it became obvious things were deteriorating quickly.  Still, I was determined to push on and not stop.  I know what happens after that.  Only a few miles down, I started to feel a few raindrops.  At 40 MPH, they kind of hurt, but still, I wasn't even thinking of stopping.  Just passed the snowmobile parking lot, I could hear a distant rumble of thunder.  From the looks when up top, I was hoping it was further to the south, as I could see it pouring that far back.  Pretty soon, it was a deluge and lighting was getting closer.  By MP 31, lightning was directly overhead - too close for me.  I pulled off and walked up a dirt road about 250' to a cabin with an overhang.  There I waited for nearly 45 minutes until the lightning was gone.  Back on the road, I immediately got extremely cold - which is highly unusual for me.  Shaking so bad, it was hard to hold the bars.  Just before Red Cliff, it started again.  So, again I pulled off and waited.  Just as I was getting ready to leave, the guy from Cinci pulled in ( he got a ride from a Forest Service truck for a while).  He decided to head for Ogden for the night.  I told him to stay on my wheel and I'd get us to Huntsville, where I'd call for a pickup.  From there we took him down the canyon to the Junction, where he could easily get what he needed.  Not exactly how I'd planned it for the day.

Still, I logged 118 miles and feel pretty good.  Everything got soaked, but still ran great.  Now I need to get ready for the ride on Saturday morning and make the next assessment.

Maybe a bit predictable - SRV, Couldn't Stand the Weather

Ride HARD!

Improv

When in doubt, head back to the dirt..............

Way too smokey to ride this morning.  A little front blew through this afternoon clearing most of the garbage out of the air - for now.  It's too close to race day to take chances on jack'in the lungs with crap in the air. Knowing what I was likely going to have today, I did two sessions of hard sprint intervals on the Airdyne yesterday and last night.  Only able to get my heart rate into the low 160's, I wasn't satisfied.  Getting home a little later tonight, I decided to get on the mountain bike and do a quick cardio burn - or try anyway.

I've not been on the dirt bike for quite a while, so I thought it may be a bit tight.  Two months ago I was just a shade over one hour, with a peak heart rate of 174.  A month ago, I was just a shade under one hour with a peak heart rate of 165.  Tonight I was just a stitch over 54 minutes, but only had a peak heart rate of 150 (that sucks!).  I stayed in the fast gears for the first two groups of switch-backs but found the easy gears up top.  Near the last hairpin turn, I picked the wrong line and spun out on some shale.  Other than that, it was a constant drive to the top, just not working as hard as I had thought.

Looking at the Garmin data, it appears my heart recovery is pretty good.  I think I need to mash this thing and break 48 minutes before the race.  Until then, I need to double up on cardio on off days, with enough time for long day prep and recovery.  I think I could shave seven minutes off, with more than five minutes off the front end.

With the Cache Century on Saturday, I need to keep my legs fresh for some fast riding.  I'd like to do that in five hours, which is a clip by any standard.  If I can't get Woodruff on Wednesday, I may have to settle for something a little less dramatic on Thursday.  It has more to do with the weather than anything at this point.

So........quick rides like tonight generally come with a little fast tempo.

Try this on the old spin bike - Bodhisattva!

Ride HARD!

The Drill.............

More Changes & Long Rides

The routine is pretty straightforward at this point.  Long rides Monday and Thursday from here on out.  Up at 04:00. Work on the bike at 05:00.  Standard breakfast (2 eggs, an apple and chocolate milk) by 05:45.  Put the gear together and shove off at best light.  By this time it's still a little dark, so a tail flasher is always a must.  The first key point is the State Road Shed at SR 39, MP 22.  Anything later than 50 minutes is too slow.  Next key point is "The Spring", near MP 35.  This needs to be under 2 hours.  The real mark is Ant Flat Road, MP 36 - that should be just a shade +/- 2 hours, then choke down a banana.  Within the next few minutes, I'm in the small ring (front gear), as it gets pretty steep heading to the snowmobile parking lot.  From there it's up past Marriott's and MP 40, with only 3 more miles to Little Monte.  At MP 43 (Little Monte), I can spring back into the big ring, but still have a climb to MP 44.  Depending on the day, I may stay in the big ring, but generally, if I'm under 3 hours.  On top, there are the rollers (the shoulders of Monte).  Just past MP 44, from Weber County to Cache County.  Around MP 45-ish, from Cache County to Rich County.  By this point it's all big ring, hitting 30 MPH occasionally.  Just before MP 48, Monte Cristo Camp Ground and Guard Station.  At MP 49, the commitment to continue has been made.  Off the pass and heading for the dugway, let the brakes go and get low.  Into the canyon, start looking for MP 55 - just past it is the east side snow gate.  By the time MP 60 rolls around, there is some serious pedaling.  A cattle gate at MP 60, with another at MP 62 kind of makes a mess of things. By MP 63, its all about going in with a little authority.  Just before MP 68, SR 39 ends, and so does that part of the suffering.  After a quick refuel and maybe an unholy Snickers bar, do it all in reverse.

Today I was running a new wheelset;  DT Swiss, 1450.......... not that it means anything to anyone else but me.  The system was a little tight pretty much all the way over.  The freehub was unusually quiet.  After the 45 minute descent off the west side, it was screaming like a Stuka dive bomber - the way it's supposed to.  Add to this the constant headwinds today and call it a tough ride.  Key times were off, but not by much.  The new wheelset is not as aero as my RXL's, but way stable at higher speeds.  They're also pretty lite, which allows them to spin up fast, just not hold the kinetic energy.  Running through Ant Flat on the return always is tricky with the side wind, but not with these wheels.  By MP 28 (Red Cliff) it was too windy to consider a full ride back to the Home-20.  It was only a matter of doing 112 or doing 115 miles.  Just about MP 25 (still out of cell range), I picked up a grabber-screw in my back tire - yeah, no kidding!  After surviving that near disaster, I was just about out of South Fork Canyon when some knucklehead dang near hit me.  At that point, I can take a hint.  Head for Huntsville, call it 112 miles and call for a bail-out.

This will be the same thing for the next two weeks.  Next Saturday I'll have to add the Cache Valley Century.  A key tune-up ride for me, as it will be the only time I get to ride with fast groups before race day.  I'll have to play that week a little by ear, as to not "overcook".

I've still got a couple "Udder Balm" things to distribute.  This past week I sent some to several far away and enchanted lands.  Right now there are well over 300 distributed, in Michigan, Colorado, Georgia, Texas, Nevada, Montana, Washington, and Idaho.  Of course, there are a bunch scattered throughout the "Beehive" (Utah).  Looking at the page views, it appears there is some traction.  Looking at the donations, I'd say it is looking pretty good.  HHH over all is kind of struggling, but we'll pull it together - I'm sure.

Thanks to all of you who are carrying this effort.  It is humbling and truly remarkable.

For now, I'm a little hurt, tired and sore.  This is a throwback to my post from last year, August 16.  You want to know why I do this, read either my 2017 Year-end post, or August 16, 2017.  My pain is nothing........................

Song Bird

Ride HARD!

Long Rides

Why Woodruff?

So.............  the question has been asked how the Woodruff ride compares to LOTOJA.  Other than LOTOJA is 200 + miles, the ride over Monte to Woodruff and back is every bit as tough, if not more so, by specific elements.

LOTOJA has three key climbs.  The first drags out over 22 miles, with most of the hard climbing confined to maybe 7 miles.  The second is a 9-mile ascent with the hardest only the last 2 or so miles.  The last real climb is Salt River Pass, with a 3-mile KoM (King of the Mountain) stretch that runs between 6% & 8% grade.  The first supported feed zone (my first stop) is in Montpelier - around 4 hours and change.  Salt River Pass is really the "hump" and should be something like 6 hours.  Alpine Junction is at the bottom of Snake River Canyon but is normally a pretty easy (comparatively) climb, as you most always have a tailwind.  

From where I start, Woodruff is just a tad over 4 hours, but about 18 miles shorter than Montpelier.  The climb is considerably harder and longer.  Add to that, the peak elevation is almost 2,000' higher.  If you consider the climb back to the Camp Ground is 20 miles, this is about the same as Montpelier to the top of Salt River Pass.  The difference is, it is one long climb, with grades steeper than 8% near the top.  The stretch across the top is a few miles and then an arduous descent, that goes on for about an hour.  There is nothing like this at LOTOJA.  The highest point of LOTOJA is something like 7,800'.  Still about 1,200' lower than Monte.  Basically, an 8-hour training ride to Woodruff and back to anywhere in Ogden Valley is the rough equivalent of getting to Alpine Junction.

For me, the ride today was roughly 4,500 calories over about 8 hours.  Part of the training is strategic feeding and watering.  You can't wait until you need nutrition or water.  By then it is too late.  I force myself to drink every 20 minutes or so.  At about 45 minutes, I nibble on fruit snacks.  At 2 hours, I force down a banana.  Between 45 and 60 minutes later I'll push down a Gu.  Just before the drop over the other side, I'll pop a Jolly Rancher.  All the while, keeping with the water schedule.  On warm days, I'll go through 22 ounces of drink in an hour.  Cool days, maybe every two hours.

The key to any of this is training your body to do this type of thing for not less than 8 hours.  Again, this may only get you to Alpine, but without it................good luck.  

In short, this ride is by far the best training ride, even compared to riding parts of the actual LOTOJA course.  The only thing you don't get is the familiarization of the actual course itself - priceless.

There are guys that come from fairly long distances to make this training ride.  It's "the truth".  Some days are more brutal than others, but it is always a chore.

Above all else, I enjoy the awesome people you'll meet while at the Woodruff Store.  I've ridden a bunch of the training rides, a lot of them on the LOTOJA course.  None of them come close to this ride, in large part due to the folks over on that side of the mountain.  As hard as the ride may be, I really enjoy the ride to Woodruff.

"Whipping Post"

Ride HARD!

A break through................

Woodruff 2.0 - A far better product................

Back for more.  Actually, I needed to work out several issues after the last adventure to Woodruff.  It's kind of hard to appreciate until you've experienced it for yourself, but this is a tough ride - every time.  From home, the total climb to the Woodruff store is 4,260', with a peak elevation of 9,030'.  To simply get back to Huntsville, the climb is 2,800'.  So for today, call it 7,060' with 112 miles.

I had to get back to basics, running my noisy RXL wheels, and focusing on nutrition all the way over and back.  Out the door around 06:35, I was able to stay cool up 'till about MP 32.  Still, I stayed in my big ring (up front) all the way to Ant Flat road (MP 36).  Key times most of the way were not too bad.  Up on top ( about a mile before the campground), my back tire went flat.  With still three CO2 shots and one extra tube, I decided to push over the hill into "the other side".  Not sure what kind of tire pressure I had under me, I wasn't confident enough to let the bike go.  As a result, the ride into Woodruff took way too long.  Once there, circumstances required a fast turn around.  The real test was pushing through the heat, up over the top, without stopping or going into the bailout gear.  Not really the fasted time back to the top, but darn close - especially with the heat.  The key was certainly nutrition and ride management.  It paid off today.

About four miles from the top (while heading back), I completely unzipped the jersey to take advantage of a little convection.  The danger of leaving the jersey partially zipped in areas like this is the real (and frequent) bee flying in and not getting out without stinging.  Over the top, I had enough water to keep going, so I started down still doing the full "Batman" (full unzipped).  About six miles down, while doing about 40 MPH, something flew under my collar and stung me on my neck.  So much for a great idea.  A quick stop to zip it to the neck and back to business.  Down around the South Fork Camp Ground, the heat really intensified.  At this point, I still had enough gas to get home, but with the heat and wind, it would be too costly.  Electing to end on a good note, I called for a bailout at Huntsville Park.  A solid effort, for the cost of about 4,500 calories.  I'll take it.

The wheelset is an issue, but I think I have a solution to finish the season - not cheap.  I need to do some work on the bike as well.  Shifting is a little sticky and the bike is very dirty.  I need to track down some 25mm R3's for the race.  I'm not racing on 23's this year.

I need to book this ride again, maybe four more times before Labor Day.  I'm not sure how I'll make this happen.

A tad random, but worth the listen.

Ride HARD!

The right ride for the day..........

Big Mountain

With Trappers Loop not being an option this year, I've been cut-off from riding over to East Canyon.  Needing the variety, I decided to try something a little different.  I drove to Mountain Green with the bike in tow and launched from the Sinclair at the other side of Trappers.  Needing the miles (and the climbing), I decided to go to Big Mountain Pass, maybe another 10 miles past where I usually turn back.

From the intersection at SR66 and SR65, the elevation stays roughly 5,800 feet all the way over to the snow gates.  Okay, there are some rollers along the way, but at the gate, you're still at 5,800 feet.  Over the next 5.4 miles, you gain about 1,600 feet.  A respectable climb.  Starting from the Sinclair, the turn around is 35 miles, with 70 miles overall.

Leaving the Sinclair at 06:30, it was dark enough to use a flasher, but also pretty cool.  I was equipped for heat.  About twenty minutes up the road, my hands were getting pretty cold.  By the time I got up to Milton, things had warmed enough.  Still, no glasses until passing the dam.  Pretty smokey, and thus, kind of a late sunrise - at least with enough heat to matter.  Times to key points; not too bad, but not at a racing speed.  By the time I got back to the truck, I was kind of tired, but not completely spent.  The real challenge was getting home, just driving back over Trappers.  What a mess.

If you're in the area, the Drive over Big Mountain is worth the time.  It's a seasonal road but nice pretty much any time it's open.

Dr. John - Right Place

Ride HARD!

SMIOKE

Can I get a break over here, PLEASE!

"If it's not a one thing, it's another" - Rosanna Rosanna Danna. 

It's been one of those years.  Now.............it's smoke.  Talk about a rough go of things.  Between the fires in No-Cal and the fires out west in Box Elder County, the air is nearly unbearable.  It's bad enough that a lot of folks are getting raspy throats and burning eyes.  Try to get your heart rate up, and you're simply asking for trouble.

The early ride Friday morning was actually pretty good.  Aside from several construction areas, and new chip seal over on 162.  Still, 51 miles, with a spoke bender add-on in sub-three hours - all solo.  I'll take it.  The air quality wasn't nearly as bad as it would become later that afternoon.  By Saturday morning, it wasn't worth the risk.  I did a series of things on the stationary spin bike instead.

Mechanically, I've got to figure out what to do with wheels.  My Race X-lite set is pretty much worn out.  I rode a set of Alex A-Class, which were fast, but I don't think they'll handle the stresses I put into the hub.  If I can shred a DT Swiss hub, I'll decimate that 12 spoke drive in a few hundred climbing miles.  There's no way I'll run carbon with rim brakes, so I'm kind of limited to good aluminum.  There's a lot more to do this than just riding a bike.  The details can make, or break the whole thing - and right now, the details are becoming an issue.

Let's see what tomorrow looks like.  You know how plans can go.

Fundraising is getting some traction.  Page hits are starting to accumulate - all of which fuel the tempo in willingness and desire.  

A big thank you to my favorite Delta "left-seat" R.W.  He's as good a neighbor as anyone could have, and a darn good guy to boot.  This is what it's all about, and it gets me fired up.  This is gonna work.

Speaking of pilots and smoke.  From a pretty good movie that kind of depicted this summer - albeit thirty years ago.

The Platters - Smoke Gets in your eyes.

Ride HARD! (cough cough)