Fruita Colorado

Ahhh... spring in the Rockies... one minute it's sunny and 60F and the next it's snowing so hard that you can't see. I'm getting a bit tired of the snow and there is a huge 'up slope' spring storm that it bearing down on Colorado. An upslope typically dumps snow on the front range but it doesn't impact the middle and western part of the state.

So on Friday with the weather guessers predicting anywhere from 10 - 36 inches of snow for the Front Range on Friday and Saturday I decided to bail out and head west to Fruita for a dry weekend of mountain biking. The best laid plans... by the time I could leave on Friday, the snow was so heavy that I70 was closed. So early Saturday AM with a driving rain snow mix I headed north on 25, west on I80, South on 13 to Rifle and west on 70 again... I had escaped the grips of the snow and showed up in Fruita in time to ride Marys Loop, Steves, Handcuffs, Lions Loop and Mack Ridge.

On Sunday AM, I head over to the Book Cliffs Area just north of Fruita. I'd never been here before but this is a treat! I was slow starting due to my back being tight and sore from shoveling some snow on Friday AM and from being in the truck so long etc. Anyhow, I mixed a 4 hour bottle of fuel and headed out... I warmed up on Prime Cut to Chutes and Ladders. Back up Prime Cut to Front Side. I am on a mission to do the Edge Loop and nothing is going to stop me.

The Edge Loop is about 30 miles long, it's remote and apparently not often ridden... perfect! I never saw a single sole during this whole ride :). No mountain bike ride would be complete without some great twisted story to tell...

So at about Mile 22 I've climbed and decended a good amount of pretty precipitous terrain (OK some of it is wicked steep) and I'm now at the infamous 30' 'waterfall'. Which is thankfully dry.

I've done a bit of climbing and this kind of thing doesn't bother me but it has my undivided attention. I've got to get me and the bike down this cliff face in one piece. There is no way around it and no turning back. This would be an easy task with 2 people but since no one likes to play my game... I'm left to my own devices.

There are a couple of fixed lines that have been placed down this narrow rock chute that are critical to doing this little decent safely. So I rig up my bike with my camelback straps so that I can wear it on my back.

No, it is no fun taking your own picture and it's not a very good one but you get the idea of the bike/camelback rig.

My biggest concern about the decent was getting the bike wedged in the top part of the chute and it causing me to fall or to damage the bike. Anyhow, I'm now down safely and I continue to head down the narrow canyon. After a bit I am back on single track climbing out of several ravines... this is really cool!

I arrive back at the truck and I've consumed all of my fuel and nearly drained my camelback dry. I've been out exactly 4 hours and I'm happy that the fuel and water are working out so well... I do a lot of tweaking on these critical aspects to make sure that I'm getting the calories and hydration that I need. I'm having to use a camelback this year due to the Carbon Yeti having only a single bottle cage... it takes some getting used to, hence the need to practice with it.

I quickly refuel for 2 more hours, more water and head back out to hit the classic storied trails of Kessel Run, Joes Ridge & Western Zippety. I finish up on Zippety Do Da. My friend Mike told me that this was going to be a real treat so I saved it till last. He was right! This is a gem! It's marked for experts only and has a reputation for breaking collar bones due to how steep it is and after riding it I can see why!

So the BDA (Battle Damage Assessment) at the end of the weekend, I'd driven a ton of hours, ridden 8 hrs of single track & checked out both mountain bikes. I've covered about 80 miles. The bikes are running fine and my body is responding to the training load. My back however is killing me, I'll get into see Dr Joel at Well Within Chiropractic in Castle Rock when I get home... he will get me straightened out again.

Life is on the bike this weekend is lonely but life is good!

More Hill Work

Today's bike session was more work on Jackson Creek Road. I was able to get 3600' of vertical which equates to about 2 and 1/2 laps before I ran out of day light. I was very happy that I felt much better and stronger than 2 days ago. I was able to keep the intensity, speed and heart rate up. The purpose of this workout is to build power so I'm using larger gears and lower pedal cadence... I can feel it in the legs tonight.

I love this time of year because the training gains are always obvious and quick to realize. I'm eating a lot and am happy that I am able to do so with out worrying too much about counting calories. I concentrate on consuming high quality protein, carbohydrates and veggies. I also supplement which is very important for recovery and to allow hard training the next day.

I'm still heavier than I want to be, my scale tells me that I'm running roughly 7% body fat, in another 6 weeks I should (or want to) be down to about 5%... I'll get there, it just takes hard work and focus on not eating junk or consuming more good food than I really need.

Road Bike Intervals 1 min on 2 min recovery

Well, I got to experience a new level of pain and suffering yesterday. I was introduced to the 1 minute full out sprint followed by a 2 minute recovery and repeat 10 times. This workout is supposed to and should help the body improve its ability to work at very high intensity levels and recover more quickly between. The translation over to the mountain bike would be a tough technical uphill section that requires a lot of effort to get through or a passing situation in a race.

I was quite pleased that I could hang in there on these. 3o minute warm up ride then the 30 minute ride - recover intervals then 30 minute cool down. Today, my legs feel OK but I can definitely tell that I was working hard yesterday.

I ended up with a work out cough and I could taste the blood but I'm happy to say that overall the body is hanging in there and responding to the training load.

Jackson Creek Road

Well today was the first day that I've hit my 'favorite' dirt road. Jackson Creek Road is a dirt road that essentially goes straight up into the foothills... it is a relentless climb of 1400' vertical to the gate that blocks access to the national forest. There is no road or trail that I know of that is close to the house, can be ridden when it's wet and is sustained and steep... this fits the bill.

I turned around at the gate today because there was snow on the road past it and I know this route so well that I know that it would be futile to try to go farther. Also, I forgot my bike fenders and with the road being so wet I would have ended up a muddy mess with little additional training to show for it. I only have a few weeks to train on this road because the traffic becomes so heavy once Rampart Range Road is opened up that it is dangerous for me to ride it not to mention the choking dust that is kicked up by all the cars, trucks & jeeps.

I rode the Yeti 575 today because it is heavy on the way up and fun on the way down. More weight going up helps build that leg strength that I'll need for long sustained climbs during races but I'll be doing those race climbs on the light weight Carbon Yeti which should translate to faster speeds and better overall endurance.

I only had time to make 2 laps on JCR before it got dark but the 1.5 hours was worth it. I've got a good base line for my climbing strength now and I'll be able to work on building power in my legs. This training hill is not fun, in fact it is really hard to do and to stay focused. I just keep thinking that all this hard work will pay off when the gun goes off at the (now) first race - The 18 Hours of Fruita.

Sunday Training Ride

Well after yesterday's cancelled Dawn Til' Dusk Race in Gallup NM and our subsequent drive back home... I was dying to get a ride in... no matter the penalty...

So I headed out on the Cyclocross bike at about noon... I stepped into 38F, Fog, Rain and about a 20mph wind... this was going to be a real training day on the roadbike... because as you know ' If it ain't rainin', then it ain't training '.

A bunch of cars passed me while I was out... I could feel them stare at me as they went by... probably muttering something about me obviously being crazy.

I managed to stay on the bike for over an hour and a half but my hands go so cold that I couldn't feel them and I couldn't work the brakes so I had to cut it short. I really felt good and wanted so badly to continue for several more hours but thought better of it... I don't want to get sick or run down. It was a struggle to get my gloves and gear off in the garage but I felt better after a hot shower and some warm food.

I'll lift and do some ab work this afternoon. I will also stretch... I'm still tight from the long hours in the truck on Friday and Saturday.

I can't really complain about the rain because we need it so badly, it's been really dry here for about 4 months so this is very much welcome.

Monday is supposed to be sunny and 59F and I should get to take advantage of it!

Dawn Til' Dusk - 2009 - Canceled due to Rain, Snow & MUD

Those of us who choose to entertain ourselves with hours of training and long races expect bad weather from time to time... I could tell some stories... Anyhow, Chad, his sister Beth and I headed down to Gallup, NM on Friday April 10th for the 12 hour Dawn Til' Dusk mountain bike race. It was a great trip down, good conversation, good music and good company... It takes about 8 hours drive to get there from my place in Castle Rock.


We arrived in Gallup at about 430PM on Friday afternoon, got checked in and headed over the race course which is about 15 minutes away. Chad and I were both signed up to do the 12 hour solo race. The race directors quarantine solo riders in our own special holding area which is close to the course so that it makes it easier for us to get into and out of our pit areas quickly.


We set up our canopy tent to stake out our spot which will now become our official 'Pit' area and then we head off to partially ride the course before it gets dark. This is the first time that we have ridden this course so we are anxious to see what it holds in store for us. We ride out about 3 miles out then catch the other side of the trail and return down a different set of switch backs back to the Pits. The course is very nice, the first bit of it has a couple of tricky switch backs and one ledge which is easy to ride if your mind doesn't get in the way (it has a nasty fall to the right down about 10' if you screw up). The top part is clay, 'slick rock' and packed sand... very nicely done trail.



After securing our race packets back at 'El Rancho' we head off in search of food... Pasta and chicken is what I want and we find it at a local itialian place... good food and poor service...



This is the biggest salad that we have ever seen! Go Beth!




I should interject that Beth has volunteered to come down and crew for Chad and I... what a sacrifice that she has made giving up a vacation day driving about 17 hours round trip with us etc... We are grateful for her company and for her help during the race. Thanks Beth! We enjoyed having you along and hope that next time will bring sunshine and warm temps!

Saturday 0500 comes early... none of us has slept particularly well, we are nervous as usual before a race especially the first one of the season. The other thing that is nagging us is the sound of a steady rain drumming on the flat roof out side our windows.


We are loaded and out the door by 0530 headed over to the pit area. Things are looking pretty bleak... fog, rain, snow and cold. We arrive at the pit area at about 0545 where we are greeted with a sea of mud.








The race director came by at about 0600 and told us that the race would be delayed from 0700 until 0900 due to the bad weather and absolutely deplorable trail conditions.


We are all hopeful that the present weather system will pass quickly and that the course will dry out to allow the a 0900 start. We have access to Sirus - Satellite based Travel Link radar in the truck which now becomes our sole focus for the next 2 hours. The red triangle is where we are and the weather is tracking to the north east... nice...




At the pre-race meeting at 0845 we are told that the conditions are terrible and the sections of the course are not only unrideable but also unwalkable... nice...



So an additional 2 hour delay is put into place and we are delayed until 1100 at which time they will decide to either hold the race starting at 1200 or cancel it.




From our unique position to see the weather on radar as well as to be able to cross correlate what we are seeing outside the truck we are starting to believe that there is no way that they can hold the race without 1) destroying the trail and 2) risking someone getting badly hurt or worse.








Chad starts to play with the video function on the camera to document the drama.



There was a clearing of about 30 minutes where the sun came out briefly and the weather gave us a break for a while then it socked in again... at about 1000 the weather had rolled back in and the race was cancelled... then it was a mad dash to get out before some little car got stuck in the quagmire.



You can tell from the video and comments that we are absolutely bored to death and trying have fun and make the best of a bad situation... The backhoe is going in to extract a bunch of cars that wouldn't make it out without assistance. Sometimes these things happen... we are terribly disapointed that we can't race and we feel bad for the race promoters and staff, they can't control the weather... so we start the long drive home.



We hope to try it again next year! Hopefully with better weather!