Actual winter was nice, but May has been a rough month with constant rain and snow, a wrecked back to start, and a week-long cold to end. I am ready for June!
Trained well all winter and didn't gain twenty pounds for once. Lots of running through the cold months then got on to the bike regularly starting in March.
My daughter was born happy and healthy on March 27th and fatherhood has been amazing!
By the time April arrived I was sure that the trails would soon melt out and we would enjoy a long summer riding season. But then it started snowing in late April and has refused to stop. Finally today, May 30th was the first beautiful and sunny day that I can remember.
Threw my sorry back out on April 30th simply riding my hardtail around the rec path and was completely out of commission for two weeks. My wife and I had a roadtrip planned and I was scared I wouldn't be able to ride at all.
Luckily by the time I got to Sedona I was able to gingerly get back in the saddle to enjoy several rides on the trip without ruining myself further. While in Sedona I took a lap on the Hiline trail and had my mind blown. I did walk the terrifying chute into the creekbed at the bottom, but rode everything else... one of the best trails I've ever seen.
Hit the Continental Divide trail outside Silver City, New Mexico and damn, that is some fine trail too. If you access the CDT from the Little Walnut picnic area and head south you will hit a wonderful two-mile flowing descent down to Little Walnut Creek. That section was even great fun on the climb back due to the perfect pitch.
Here's some GPS on that one:
https://www.strava.com/activities/304698738
Visited my folks in Cloudcroft, New Mexico and did a thru-ride on the Cloudcroft Rim Trail. Based on the fact that noone else is likely to do something that stupid, I'm gonna claim a first completer on that until proven otherwise:
https://www.strava.com/activities/304699593
So I was glad to get some riding in on that trip since I was committed to the Gunnison Growler over Labor Day Weekend. My back was holding up but it was extremely tight and stiff (ok, normal) so I was paranoid about riding my XC hardtail, especially since I had only ridden Hartman's once before and still had never seen most of the race course.
Finally I decided to take my Yeti SB66c and focus on fun and not worrying too much about really racing. I knew I wouldn't be too speedy on that thing, but I wouldn't have to stress too much about the trail or the tech factor. So that worked, but yeah, I was slow. I got smoked on the neutral rollout to Hartman's and was damn near last to even enter the actual race course.
I did pick off about 60 people once I got into the trail so mentally it felt like a good race, but by the second lap I was pretty much auto-granny at the first sight of any upward slope in the trail. Did ride all the tech stuff though, especially second lap when I had a clear track. After cleaning the chute on Skull Pass the second lap (1st time was clogged) I got such a shot of adrenaline that I let it all hang out on the loose winding part after only to miss a turn and crash down into the ditch. Good times, no damage, climbed out and moved on.
So I have my time at 7:45 because I coulda sworn that they tell you that the neutral rollout is untimed, but that doesn't seem to be the case according to the results that put me at 7:59.
Fun, but grueling course, and if I race this again I will definitely bring my XC hardtail.
So all my summer goals listed in the prior post are still in play, but I'm stoked to add one more, and even more stoked that it is a bikepacking event:
The Dixe 200!
http://2-epic.com/events/dixie200.html
Rick Miller and I are gonna head down and give that one a shot. Much shorter than the CTR, but I need to get that DNF-taste outa my mouth and get my confidence back. I haven't done enough research to formulate an actual strategy yet, but I'm almost sure I'll ride my hardtail with flat pedals. I've got to find out of that can ward off the achilles problems I've been dealing with in CTR.
So that's what I've got for now..... I'll try to post up a Dixie Preview when I can.
Saturday, May 30, 2015
Saturday, January 3, 2015
2015 Resolution & Goals
Only one resolution: Be the best dad I can be.
But I did add a couple other racing goals, so here is the full lineup for 2015:
May 24, 2015 - Full Gunnison Growler
Time goal is to have a solid race and gain confidence in having strong early season form. I'll be pleased if I can finish in the top 50% of my age class in a tough field.
July 4, 2015 - Firecracker 50
Last year I PR'd with 4:48 and got 3rd in Sport Class, so this year I intend to move up to Expert Class. This should avoid the huge traffic I always have to encounter on lap 1 and probably gain a couple minutes based on that alone. I'd like to get my time down to around 4:30.
July 18, 2015 - Breck 100
I raced this in 2012 and finished in 11:52, so I definitely want to get below 11 hours. The lower the better.
August 1-2 - Montezuma "Mountain's Revenge":
I've heard about this one for a long time and was bummed to have lived in another era. But Adam Shaw revived this monster last year now I'll get my chance to see how many miles I can put down. Rough guess is about 100, but I'd like to get as far past that number as I can. I'd love to somehow get deep into Loop 5, the Lenawee / Warden Gulch Loop but that would mean something like 126 miles to finish. Jesse Jakomait did 155 miles last year so I have grave doubts about staying within 30 miles of him, but who knows. I think he had to do a Webster Pass / Red Cone loop and I know first-hand how brutal it is pushing up and over Red Cone.
September 12-13, 2015 - Vapor Trail 125
If I reach most of my goals I should be plenty battle-hardened for a ride on the Vapor Trail. No sense in setting any time goals for that, but I'll have a much better idea of how I stack up as the date gets closer.
But I did add a couple other racing goals, so here is the full lineup for 2015:
May 24, 2015 - Full Gunnison Growler
Time goal is to have a solid race and gain confidence in having strong early season form. I'll be pleased if I can finish in the top 50% of my age class in a tough field.
July 4, 2015 - Firecracker 50
Last year I PR'd with 4:48 and got 3rd in Sport Class, so this year I intend to move up to Expert Class. This should avoid the huge traffic I always have to encounter on lap 1 and probably gain a couple minutes based on that alone. I'd like to get my time down to around 4:30.
July 18, 2015 - Breck 100
I raced this in 2012 and finished in 11:52, so I definitely want to get below 11 hours. The lower the better.
August 1-2 - Montezuma "Mountain's Revenge":
I've heard about this one for a long time and was bummed to have lived in another era. But Adam Shaw revived this monster last year now I'll get my chance to see how many miles I can put down. Rough guess is about 100, but I'd like to get as far past that number as I can. I'd love to somehow get deep into Loop 5, the Lenawee / Warden Gulch Loop but that would mean something like 126 miles to finish. Jesse Jakomait did 155 miles last year so I have grave doubts about staying within 30 miles of him, but who knows. I think he had to do a Webster Pass / Red Cone loop and I know first-hand how brutal it is pushing up and over Red Cone.
September 12-13, 2015 - Vapor Trail 125
If I reach most of my goals I should be plenty battle-hardened for a ride on the Vapor Trail. No sense in setting any time goals for that, but I'll have a much better idea of how I stack up as the date gets closer.
Saturday, December 13, 2014
Post CTR Analysis and New Goals
After reflecting on my failed CTR I guess I have a few thoughts.
I must move to flat pedals and I need to install a much easier gear for slow-pedal spinning even if that is contrary to my usual riding/climbing style. I don't think my achilles are going to hold up any other way.
But mainly I've thought a lot about whether I should/could have continued on. My achilles hurt like hell in 2013, but I was halfway across Cataract/Coney and I didn't really have any choice but to keep fighting through it. Through that I discovered that after crunching through the pain each time I resumed hiking or riding, the pain would ease up and eventually I was able to cope with it.
Last year my achilles blew up into intense pain right as I rode the final stretch into Buena Vista. Maybe I could have persevered like the year before, but I could not convince myself to leave the comforts of civilization to face the very hard trek to Silverton. I convinced myself that the pain was much worse this year, but now I'm not so sure.
After finishing in 2013 it took a month of recovery before I could ride or hike again. I was severely hobbled for 3 days this year, but I was able to recover much quicker and was back on to fairly big adventures about 5 days after dropping out.
My situation calls to mind an important point that Mark Caminiti has repeatedly made about the necessary ingredients for CTR success, specifically his point #6 below regarding injury:
6. Injury. What happens when you have body issues? The will to continue the journey when dealing with pain is very important for all racers, not just fast ones. I had to deal with intense pain in 2012 in AZT and CTR. I ended up taking one aspirin in 25 days though I dealt with a heel/achilles injury in Arizona and a stress fracture in the lower leg in CTR. Do you have that drive to succeed? Even if it means your elapsed time sucks in comparison to others or your goal? Many folks quit because their final time would be not good enough or they cant break a record, etc.
People have correctly remarked that it was a slower field in the 2014, but personally I was having a great race. Aside from my achilles I felt fantastic mentally and in every other way. So I admit that knowing I would have to watch everyone I had been racing near ride away from me if I continued was another tough mental challenge to face.
I'm married this year and was feeling guilty about the possibility of ruining myself for months after the race when my wife had already made big sacrifices leading up so I could train so much.
Live and learn.... as I've said, I had a great time even if quitting leaves a very sour taste in my mouth.
But there was also a silver lining. My wife found out she was pregnant the day after I dropped out! So I am very glad that I was there to share and support her as she found out that great news. We are going to have a little baby girl sometime around April 1.
So there will be no bikepacking races for me in 2015, although I'd love to do some 1 or 2 nighters at a decent pace with any good folks training for the CTR or whatever else this summer.
As for me, I've picked out a few 1-day marathon races to focus on. I've built up a very nice endurance base these last couple years as I've been laser-focused on the CTR. I hoping to throw in a little speed training, interval-type stuff for the first time in my life to see if I can get sorta fast.
So I registered for the full Gunnison Growler in May, and then I hope to peak for the Firecracker 50 and Breck 100 in July.
Usually I get lazy and fat every November/December, but I have been training hard so I'm feeling great right now. Hoping to be in great shape when the baby comes and my sleep get cut way back.
I'm not done with bikepack races by a long shot though. I know I'll be back for the CTR again someday because there is nothing in the world that can satisfy my thirst for adventure like that thing can. Hopefully I will come back stronger, but mostly wiser.
I must move to flat pedals and I need to install a much easier gear for slow-pedal spinning even if that is contrary to my usual riding/climbing style. I don't think my achilles are going to hold up any other way.
But mainly I've thought a lot about whether I should/could have continued on. My achilles hurt like hell in 2013, but I was halfway across Cataract/Coney and I didn't really have any choice but to keep fighting through it. Through that I discovered that after crunching through the pain each time I resumed hiking or riding, the pain would ease up and eventually I was able to cope with it.
Last year my achilles blew up into intense pain right as I rode the final stretch into Buena Vista. Maybe I could have persevered like the year before, but I could not convince myself to leave the comforts of civilization to face the very hard trek to Silverton. I convinced myself that the pain was much worse this year, but now I'm not so sure.
After finishing in 2013 it took a month of recovery before I could ride or hike again. I was severely hobbled for 3 days this year, but I was able to recover much quicker and was back on to fairly big adventures about 5 days after dropping out.
My situation calls to mind an important point that Mark Caminiti has repeatedly made about the necessary ingredients for CTR success, specifically his point #6 below regarding injury:
6. Injury. What happens when you have body issues? The will to continue the journey when dealing with pain is very important for all racers, not just fast ones. I had to deal with intense pain in 2012 in AZT and CTR. I ended up taking one aspirin in 25 days though I dealt with a heel/achilles injury in Arizona and a stress fracture in the lower leg in CTR. Do you have that drive to succeed? Even if it means your elapsed time sucks in comparison to others or your goal? Many folks quit because their final time would be not good enough or they cant break a record, etc.
People have correctly remarked that it was a slower field in the 2014, but personally I was having a great race. Aside from my achilles I felt fantastic mentally and in every other way. So I admit that knowing I would have to watch everyone I had been racing near ride away from me if I continued was another tough mental challenge to face.
I'm married this year and was feeling guilty about the possibility of ruining myself for months after the race when my wife had already made big sacrifices leading up so I could train so much.
Live and learn.... as I've said, I had a great time even if quitting leaves a very sour taste in my mouth.
But there was also a silver lining. My wife found out she was pregnant the day after I dropped out! So I am very glad that I was there to share and support her as she found out that great news. We are going to have a little baby girl sometime around April 1.
So there will be no bikepacking races for me in 2015, although I'd love to do some 1 or 2 nighters at a decent pace with any good folks training for the CTR or whatever else this summer.
As for me, I've picked out a few 1-day marathon races to focus on. I've built up a very nice endurance base these last couple years as I've been laser-focused on the CTR. I hoping to throw in a little speed training, interval-type stuff for the first time in my life to see if I can get sorta fast.
So I registered for the full Gunnison Growler in May, and then I hope to peak for the Firecracker 50 and Breck 100 in July.
Usually I get lazy and fat every November/December, but I have been training hard so I'm feeling great right now. Hoping to be in great shape when the baby comes and my sleep get cut way back.
I'm not done with bikepack races by a long shot though. I know I'll be back for the CTR again someday because there is nothing in the world that can satisfy my thirst for adventure like that thing can. Hopefully I will come back stronger, but mostly wiser.
Tuesday, August 19, 2014
CTR Fail!
Spoiler Alert:
Had to bail in Buena Vista with Achilles pain that I was not tough enough to fight through this time. It was a disappointing result, but considering how much fun I had out there, I've mostly managed to get the sour taste out of my mouth already.
The toughest part of the decision was how quickly things went south on me. I was feeling good while filtering my last batch of water before exiting the singletrack and riding the wilderness detour to Buena Vista. But when I got back on the bike I noticed a little something different going on with my right ankle. I tried to deny it, block it out, and pedal on in to BV, but it quickly got much worse. I had to dismount twice around the railroad tunnels to try and get some relief, and by the time I finally rolled into town it was in severe pain.
So it was difficult to face those facts. I went ahead and bought my $50 of food for the trip to Silverton, and purchased a better water filter, thinking that if I completed these chores, then my Achilles would get back on the program and I could keep going.
I took an unhealthy amount of ibuprofen, taped it up, and tried to ride out of town twice, but it just wasn't happening.
So I made the call to drop. Maybe I could have fought through it, or maybe not, but having finished the race the year before, perhaps I just didn't have the will to deal with the pain.
So that is the end if the story, but what I actually remember from my 2+ days is the kickass fun I had out there.
It was a very different experience than 2013 when I had a slow start and spent most of my days on the trail solo and alone with my thoughts. This time I rode within a group of about five other guys and we just traded spots depending on who needed to filter water or eat and whatever time it was. It actually felt like a bike race.
So here's a recap of my too-brief time on the trail:
Day 1 - Waterton Canyon to a few miles past Kenosha Pass - 124 miles:
It was a smaller group than usual this year, with quite a few CTR regulars sitting out. Stefan said a few words and we all took off in a big group and chatted away during the six road miles leading to the singletrack. I got a chance to talk with Mark Caminiti and hear some about his Tour Divide run.
Once we hit the singletrack I just tried to climb at whatever speed would allow me to stay on the bike without spiking my heart rate.
Last year I lost my camera on day 2; well, this year I managed to lose it within the first two hours. However, I got lucky when I met Garrett Alexander for the first time and he was kind enough to pick it up for me. Garrett is one in the group that I would try to stick with for the next couple days. I cinched my stem bag tight and tried to refocus on keeping the rest of my gear along for the whole ride this time.
The storms were brewing as I crested mini Stony Pass, but I managed to mostly dodge the rain and lightning for about two hours until it started dumping on me at Goose Creek Campground. Heavy cold rain continued solid for the next two hours turning the road into a muddy mess, but it finally let up just as I reached the pavement at Tarryall Road. I noticed a bike leaning on the bridge guardrail, so I called out under the bridge so see if there was room for me to hide there as well and that's how I met Bryan Klahn for the first time. We shivered and bitched about the rain for a few minutes and then Bryan took off while I ate. But Bryan is another rider I would trade places with until he finally rode away from me out of Leadville.
About five miles from the Stagestop Saloon I ran out of water and bonked about as hard as I ever have in my life. I was numb and shaking when I crawled in, but I went straight for the gatorade cooler, ate an ice cream sandwich and a stack of oreos and recovered enough to go into the restaurant. Kept on eating.... cheeseburger, chips, pizza, and got back on my way at 8:30pm.
I hit Kenosha Pass at 11:15pm and decided to keep going as long as my progress was somewhat productive. Got about five miles, almost to Jefferson Creek Road before I started swerving off the trail and it was time to sleep. Climbed in to the bivy at 12:30am after 124 miles and an 18.5 hour push on day 1.
Day 2 - Sixty Six Miles of Singletrack to Tennessee Pass
I set my alarm for 4:30am, but of course I did not get up right away. Then I heard one rider go by... and then another... and so I pulled myself up and was riding again by 5:30am for the 2000' climb to Georgia Pass.
Enjoyed the climb, settling in to the CTR rhythm... gained the pass and met Aaron Boatman up there. I knew the Breck Epic would join the Colorado Trail at the bottom of the descent so I kept pushing in hopes of staying out of that traffic and I just barely managed to do so. I did get to watch the top 3 Pros blast through
the turnoff on Red's trail so that was cool.... took my one and only picture at that spot... CTR meets Breck Epic:
Weather turned out to be great this day, but I was still hustling to get over Tenmile just in case. I know lots of people hate Tenmile, but living here, I've done this climb or some other close variation tons of times and I guess I've gotten used to it. I just kept thinking about what I wanted to eat @ Copper and that pulled me along the trail.
Large Nachos and ice cream for dinner...... best part of the CTR is the gluttonous food you get to eat. We had a full-on dinner party @ Copper.... myself, Aaron, Bryan, Garrett, Josiah Morgan, and two other riders all ate and pulled out of town together around 5:30pm.
The climb up and over Searle & Kokomo Passes, down to Camp Hale, and back up to Tennessee Pass was possibly the best I felt during the entire race. Just a spectacular feeling when you are riding like that. I even entertained ideas of pushing into oblivion, but I settled for another bivy at Tennessee Pass @ midnight. Another 18.5 hours on the trail.
Day 3 - Tennessee Pass to Quit-town:
Aaron and I had crashed together and we got rolling at 5am, getting into Leadville for a breakfast burrito at 6. Aaron had some blister maintenance to do, but I was still feeling pretty good. No ailments to speak of at all really... I felt confident about keeping this 6-day pace up.
Once again I ran into Bryan and Garrett at the Loaf and Jug and along with Aaron, we all made our ride out of town together about 7am.
Still was making solid time around Twin Lakes where I took my first food break, but was soon pushing again with BV on the mind.
Aaron and I filtered water about 5 miles from Clear Creek Road and he asked me what physical issues I was dealing with.... I responded that I was pleasantly surprised that nothing was really bothering me yet..... but then I got back on the bike and the Achilles started jacking with me immediately. But I've already hashed out those sad facts.
Limped in to BV, made a feeble effort to convince myself to go on, and then I quit.
So that is my CTR 2014 story.... I have a few other themes I may delve into over time..... like how can I solve this Achilles thing? Which direction do I find tougher? How did the psychology of knowing I had already finished before contribute to my decision to quit?
Can I keep doing these bikepack races or is it just too much for my body?
Will I do the CTR again?
Sure would like to try CSTR some day too.... And the Moab Mountain Mashup..... Dixie 200????? Cococino???
Touring these route? Maybe kicking back, enjoying the towns and the associated beer?
I'll try to get down to the bottom of all this before CTR 2015 rolls around.
Had to bail in Buena Vista with Achilles pain that I was not tough enough to fight through this time. It was a disappointing result, but considering how much fun I had out there, I've mostly managed to get the sour taste out of my mouth already.
The toughest part of the decision was how quickly things went south on me. I was feeling good while filtering my last batch of water before exiting the singletrack and riding the wilderness detour to Buena Vista. But when I got back on the bike I noticed a little something different going on with my right ankle. I tried to deny it, block it out, and pedal on in to BV, but it quickly got much worse. I had to dismount twice around the railroad tunnels to try and get some relief, and by the time I finally rolled into town it was in severe pain.
So it was difficult to face those facts. I went ahead and bought my $50 of food for the trip to Silverton, and purchased a better water filter, thinking that if I completed these chores, then my Achilles would get back on the program and I could keep going.
I took an unhealthy amount of ibuprofen, taped it up, and tried to ride out of town twice, but it just wasn't happening.
So I made the call to drop. Maybe I could have fought through it, or maybe not, but having finished the race the year before, perhaps I just didn't have the will to deal with the pain.
So that is the end if the story, but what I actually remember from my 2+ days is the kickass fun I had out there.
It was a very different experience than 2013 when I had a slow start and spent most of my days on the trail solo and alone with my thoughts. This time I rode within a group of about five other guys and we just traded spots depending on who needed to filter water or eat and whatever time it was. It actually felt like a bike race.
So here's a recap of my too-brief time on the trail:
Day 1 - Waterton Canyon to a few miles past Kenosha Pass - 124 miles:
It was a smaller group than usual this year, with quite a few CTR regulars sitting out. Stefan said a few words and we all took off in a big group and chatted away during the six road miles leading to the singletrack. I got a chance to talk with Mark Caminiti and hear some about his Tour Divide run.
Once we hit the singletrack I just tried to climb at whatever speed would allow me to stay on the bike without spiking my heart rate.
Last year I lost my camera on day 2; well, this year I managed to lose it within the first two hours. However, I got lucky when I met Garrett Alexander for the first time and he was kind enough to pick it up for me. Garrett is one in the group that I would try to stick with for the next couple days. I cinched my stem bag tight and tried to refocus on keeping the rest of my gear along for the whole ride this time.
The storms were brewing as I crested mini Stony Pass, but I managed to mostly dodge the rain and lightning for about two hours until it started dumping on me at Goose Creek Campground. Heavy cold rain continued solid for the next two hours turning the road into a muddy mess, but it finally let up just as I reached the pavement at Tarryall Road. I noticed a bike leaning on the bridge guardrail, so I called out under the bridge so see if there was room for me to hide there as well and that's how I met Bryan Klahn for the first time. We shivered and bitched about the rain for a few minutes and then Bryan took off while I ate. But Bryan is another rider I would trade places with until he finally rode away from me out of Leadville.
About five miles from the Stagestop Saloon I ran out of water and bonked about as hard as I ever have in my life. I was numb and shaking when I crawled in, but I went straight for the gatorade cooler, ate an ice cream sandwich and a stack of oreos and recovered enough to go into the restaurant. Kept on eating.... cheeseburger, chips, pizza, and got back on my way at 8:30pm.
I hit Kenosha Pass at 11:15pm and decided to keep going as long as my progress was somewhat productive. Got about five miles, almost to Jefferson Creek Road before I started swerving off the trail and it was time to sleep. Climbed in to the bivy at 12:30am after 124 miles and an 18.5 hour push on day 1.
Day 2 - Sixty Six Miles of Singletrack to Tennessee Pass
I set my alarm for 4:30am, but of course I did not get up right away. Then I heard one rider go by... and then another... and so I pulled myself up and was riding again by 5:30am for the 2000' climb to Georgia Pass.
Enjoyed the climb, settling in to the CTR rhythm... gained the pass and met Aaron Boatman up there. I knew the Breck Epic would join the Colorado Trail at the bottom of the descent so I kept pushing in hopes of staying out of that traffic and I just barely managed to do so. I did get to watch the top 3 Pros blast through
the turnoff on Red's trail so that was cool.... took my one and only picture at that spot... CTR meets Breck Epic:
Weather turned out to be great this day, but I was still hustling to get over Tenmile just in case. I know lots of people hate Tenmile, but living here, I've done this climb or some other close variation tons of times and I guess I've gotten used to it. I just kept thinking about what I wanted to eat @ Copper and that pulled me along the trail.
Large Nachos and ice cream for dinner...... best part of the CTR is the gluttonous food you get to eat. We had a full-on dinner party @ Copper.... myself, Aaron, Bryan, Garrett, Josiah Morgan, and two other riders all ate and pulled out of town together around 5:30pm.
The climb up and over Searle & Kokomo Passes, down to Camp Hale, and back up to Tennessee Pass was possibly the best I felt during the entire race. Just a spectacular feeling when you are riding like that. I even entertained ideas of pushing into oblivion, but I settled for another bivy at Tennessee Pass @ midnight. Another 18.5 hours on the trail.
Day 3 - Tennessee Pass to Quit-town:
Aaron and I had crashed together and we got rolling at 5am, getting into Leadville for a breakfast burrito at 6. Aaron had some blister maintenance to do, but I was still feeling pretty good. No ailments to speak of at all really... I felt confident about keeping this 6-day pace up.
Once again I ran into Bryan and Garrett at the Loaf and Jug and along with Aaron, we all made our ride out of town together about 7am.
Still was making solid time around Twin Lakes where I took my first food break, but was soon pushing again with BV on the mind.
Aaron and I filtered water about 5 miles from Clear Creek Road and he asked me what physical issues I was dealing with.... I responded that I was pleasantly surprised that nothing was really bothering me yet..... but then I got back on the bike and the Achilles started jacking with me immediately. But I've already hashed out those sad facts.
Limped in to BV, made a feeble effort to convince myself to go on, and then I quit.
So that is my CTR 2014 story.... I have a few other themes I may delve into over time..... like how can I solve this Achilles thing? Which direction do I find tougher? How did the psychology of knowing I had already finished before contribute to my decision to quit?
Can I keep doing these bikepack races or is it just too much for my body?
Will I do the CTR again?
Sure would like to try CSTR some day too.... And the Moab Mountain Mashup..... Dixie 200????? Cococino???
Touring these route? Maybe kicking back, enjoying the towns and the associated beer?
I'll try to get down to the bottom of all this before CTR 2015 rolls around.
Thursday, July 31, 2014
Mindset Pre-CTR
Last year I didn't even know if I could finish the CTR or not. Hell, by the time I crawled into Silverton I was still having grave doubts. Thankfully, I learned some things and caught my rhythm after leaving Silverton and finished in a sorta decent time of 7 days & 22 hours.
So going into this year, I know I can finish this thing because I've done it once already. I wasn't even in that great shape after coming out of ski season fat and injured and unable to really train until April 1st. I just didn't want to miss another year so I took a leap of faith and it worked out.
This year I aim to actually race the course, and that is exciting but also a little scary.
I'm not going to articulate an exact goal, and despite Jefe (& Jesse?) sitting out this year, I have no delusions about winning or racing near the front at all, but I'd like to chop 24 hours off and have a 6 day & change finish if I can.
There are many things in my favor for that.
I weigh about 10-12 pounds less this year. I'm riding a 29-er carbon hardtail that comes in at least 7 pounds less than the Yeti SB-66C I rode last year. And with more packing & gear experience I should be dropping 3-5 pounds there pretty easily. So I'll be chugging 20-25 pounds less along the trail this year and that's bound to count for something.
I know I'm in better shape and significantly faster on the bike as well. I've crushed all my local-ride PRs on this hardtail this summer and beat my best Firecracker 50-miler time by 21 minutes.
I've done lots of evil HAB training in an effort to prevent the achilles problems that plagued me last year starting day 2 and all the way to the finish.
Plus I have much more actual bikepacking experience. Last year I had only done one loaded overnighter in my life. Now I've got one CTR under my belt plus many other training rides and bikepack fun rides that I've been able to learn from.
I'm even using a cue-sheet with splits to guide me along towards my goal.
I'm so freakin' excited to start and I feel confident that I can reach my goals if I have a smooth run and most things go right.
Ahhhh..., but that's the big wildcard we face. What if things don't go right?
Last year my bike was flawless and I only had to rinse and lube the drivetrain the entire way. Bike maintenance and repair is a weakness of mine, and although I'm somewhat crafty in the field, this weakness could pose a problem.
I've only got 2 months on this hardtail, so I'm not totally sure how my body will react after taking the beating day after day. My Yeti wasn't the best climbing tool last year, but it sure was a plush descender. My body came out of the race pretty good; well, everything except my thrashed achilles tendons.
But there is no sense on focusing on any of that stuff. If I have a set-back, I will deal and move on. If I have a mechanical disaster that I can't repair then I guess I'll find a way to a bike shop somehow and get some help. If I have to relegate myself and continue on with a tour then I know I will have fun with that.
This is just a big excuse for Adventure anyways.
Good luck to everyone lining up this year. May you all have a beautiful time on the trail and I look forward to meeting and riding with as many of you as I can.
So going into this year, I know I can finish this thing because I've done it once already. I wasn't even in that great shape after coming out of ski season fat and injured and unable to really train until April 1st. I just didn't want to miss another year so I took a leap of faith and it worked out.
This year I aim to actually race the course, and that is exciting but also a little scary.
I'm not going to articulate an exact goal, and despite Jefe (& Jesse?) sitting out this year, I have no delusions about winning or racing near the front at all, but I'd like to chop 24 hours off and have a 6 day & change finish if I can.
There are many things in my favor for that.
I weigh about 10-12 pounds less this year. I'm riding a 29-er carbon hardtail that comes in at least 7 pounds less than the Yeti SB-66C I rode last year. And with more packing & gear experience I should be dropping 3-5 pounds there pretty easily. So I'll be chugging 20-25 pounds less along the trail this year and that's bound to count for something.
I know I'm in better shape and significantly faster on the bike as well. I've crushed all my local-ride PRs on this hardtail this summer and beat my best Firecracker 50-miler time by 21 minutes.
I've done lots of evil HAB training in an effort to prevent the achilles problems that plagued me last year starting day 2 and all the way to the finish.
Plus I have much more actual bikepacking experience. Last year I had only done one loaded overnighter in my life. Now I've got one CTR under my belt plus many other training rides and bikepack fun rides that I've been able to learn from.
I'm even using a cue-sheet with splits to guide me along towards my goal.
I'm so freakin' excited to start and I feel confident that I can reach my goals if I have a smooth run and most things go right.
Ahhhh..., but that's the big wildcard we face. What if things don't go right?
Last year my bike was flawless and I only had to rinse and lube the drivetrain the entire way. Bike maintenance and repair is a weakness of mine, and although I'm somewhat crafty in the field, this weakness could pose a problem.
I've only got 2 months on this hardtail, so I'm not totally sure how my body will react after taking the beating day after day. My Yeti wasn't the best climbing tool last year, but it sure was a plush descender. My body came out of the race pretty good; well, everything except my thrashed achilles tendons.
But there is no sense on focusing on any of that stuff. If I have a set-back, I will deal and move on. If I have a mechanical disaster that I can't repair then I guess I'll find a way to a bike shop somehow and get some help. If I have to relegate myself and continue on with a tour then I know I will have fun with that.
This is just a big excuse for Adventure anyways.
Good luck to everyone lining up this year. May you all have a beautiful time on the trail and I look forward to meeting and riding with as many of you as I can.
Saturday, July 26, 2014
Last Big Stuff Weekend
I suppose this is my last weekend to put down some really big mileage and hard training before the CTR. By next weekend I'll be resting more and dialing the intensity back quite a bit. I've already done a fair amount of HAB training, but I wanted one more wild one to harden my mind for the many miles soon to come.
I've also been eye-balling the South Park Trail that leads from near the Guanella Pass summit to Red Cone Jeep trail over by Webster Pass for several years. A few years ago I actually climbed over Webster and drug my bike up higher over Red Cone Peak to grab SPT's western end to see how far I could take it. Turned out not too far as I missed a turn and dumped myself down into Bruno Gulch just a few short miles into the trail; decided to loop Burning Bear and back over Webster at that point. But I knew I'd be back.
This time I would catch it from the eastern end at the top of Guanella Pass.
July 24 - Argentine Pass to Guanella Pass:
Thursday after work I packed my gear and started riding a little after 8pm under the lights. There was no moon out and it promised to be a very dark night. And believe it or not, 13,200' Argentine Pass seemed to be the best way to loop this thing. I planned to ride over Argentine and then climb up to Guanella's summit for a bivy so I could attempt to navigate the SFT early morning and get back over Webster before any storms hit.
Silverthorne to Argentine Pass went a little faster than I expected. I was just over an hour to Peru Creek Rd and 2hr05min to the Argentine Trail HAB. I had descended this side, but never climbed it before, and I think I like it better from this side. It was so dark out that I could see nothing outside of my light beam, so I just put my head down and hiked. If I looked off to my left I just saw scary cliff dropoff to oblivion. As I neared the top I couldn't even see shadows or anything giving away the pass, so I was a little surprised when I crested after 3hr40min from the house. My crappy Garmin GPS watch always screws up elevation and had me thinking I had another 300 vert.
Just after midnight... the lights of Denver looked pretty cool, but cold wind and late night weirdness made me want to get down to Waldorf Mine at least before breaking. I know this area well during the day, but in the pitch black night I missed the easy railroad grade down and took a sketch-ball mining road a good ways before finally linking back in to Leavenworth Road. Late night has a way of making you doubt your route choices so I kept on pushing until I was safely back to Guanella Pass Road a little after 1am.
Still had a paved 2000' climb so I put on the tunes for that and slowly made my way up. Ate a bit up top and climbed in the bivy about 2:30am.
Argentine Pass to Guanella Pass
Despite being tired, I didn't sleep very well at that 11,700' elevation. Wasn't very long, but I stayed in the bag until the sun crested directly over Mt. Bierdstadt and quickly warmed up the morning.
I took care of a couple morning chores and took off down the South Fork Trail at 7:15am. I knew the trail would be decent until after the split-off for Square Top Lakes. Beyond that my recon told me to expect some cairn-to-cairn riding and I would not be disappointed:
South Fork Trail a couple miles after Guanella Pass Trailhead:
I've also been eye-balling the South Park Trail that leads from near the Guanella Pass summit to Red Cone Jeep trail over by Webster Pass for several years. A few years ago I actually climbed over Webster and drug my bike up higher over Red Cone Peak to grab SPT's western end to see how far I could take it. Turned out not too far as I missed a turn and dumped myself down into Bruno Gulch just a few short miles into the trail; decided to loop Burning Bear and back over Webster at that point. But I knew I'd be back.
This time I would catch it from the eastern end at the top of Guanella Pass.
July 24 - Argentine Pass to Guanella Pass:
Thursday after work I packed my gear and started riding a little after 8pm under the lights. There was no moon out and it promised to be a very dark night. And believe it or not, 13,200' Argentine Pass seemed to be the best way to loop this thing. I planned to ride over Argentine and then climb up to Guanella's summit for a bivy so I could attempt to navigate the SFT early morning and get back over Webster before any storms hit.
Silverthorne to Argentine Pass went a little faster than I expected. I was just over an hour to Peru Creek Rd and 2hr05min to the Argentine Trail HAB. I had descended this side, but never climbed it before, and I think I like it better from this side. It was so dark out that I could see nothing outside of my light beam, so I just put my head down and hiked. If I looked off to my left I just saw scary cliff dropoff to oblivion. As I neared the top I couldn't even see shadows or anything giving away the pass, so I was a little surprised when I crested after 3hr40min from the house. My crappy Garmin GPS watch always screws up elevation and had me thinking I had another 300 vert.
Just after midnight... the lights of Denver looked pretty cool, but cold wind and late night weirdness made me want to get down to Waldorf Mine at least before breaking. I know this area well during the day, but in the pitch black night I missed the easy railroad grade down and took a sketch-ball mining road a good ways before finally linking back in to Leavenworth Road. Late night has a way of making you doubt your route choices so I kept on pushing until I was safely back to Guanella Pass Road a little after 1am.
Still had a paved 2000' climb so I put on the tunes for that and slowly made my way up. Ate a bit up top and climbed in the bivy about 2:30am.
Argentine Pass to Guanella Pass
Despite being tired, I didn't sleep very well at that 11,700' elevation. Wasn't very long, but I stayed in the bag until the sun crested directly over Mt. Bierdstadt and quickly warmed up the morning.
I took care of a couple morning chores and took off down the South Fork Trail at 7:15am. I knew the trail would be decent until after the split-off for Square Top Lakes. Beyond that my recon told me to expect some cairn-to-cairn riding and I would not be disappointed:
South Fork Trail a couple miles after Guanella Pass Trailhead:
Fun adventure cycling for sure, but it would be awhile before I got back on a consistently rideable trail. The steep descent off this ridge to treeline was a hike, and would truly suck to hike up, so taking this section from Guanella summit is the way to go. I would never come back to climb this section.
Once in the trees, it mixed between great trail that got you smiling and chunky fall line walky stuff. A lot I would normally ride with friends, but back in there alone I was more cautious. I made it to Geneva Creek Road and a few miles beyond before I screwed up again, took a left down some good trail that spit me out in Bruno Gulch again... same place I wound up last time on the SFT but from the other side.
I knew how to get back this time though so I climbed Bruno Gulch back to the South Fork Trail. I missed the middle Kirby Gulch section, but it may have to remain unexplored... not bummed though because the wrong trail I took down to Bruno Gulch was the best and most continuous riding of the day.
SFT would end at Red Cone Jeep Trail & 11,750'. Some riding and lots of hiking.
Red Cone broke my heart. My map has a survey marking of 12,400' near Red Cone, but I somehow forgot about its true evil even though I have experienced it before.
Red Cone Peak is actually 12,801' and then you get to hike down at least 75% of the 700' descent to Webster Pass.
Here's a shot of Red Cone from 12,100' Webster Pass:
To this point I had covered around 15 miles on the day in a hair under 6 hours. Be ready for something similar if you ever decide to get some South Park Trail.
Got home about 2:30pm with a total of 77 miles and around 11,500' climbing.
July 26 - Silverthorne to Fraser Roundtrip:
Pleased to say I did not hike my bike even once today. I took a backroad, semi-dirt route to Fraser that turned out great..... decent climb but spread out over a lot of miles so I ended up with 85.5 miles and 6000' vert on the day in a solid time of 7hr15min. Legs felt better and better as I went along so perhaps we are getting ready for the CTR.
Tuesday, July 22, 2014
CTR Training
The Colorado Trail Race begins in eighteen short days on August 10th and I'm pleased to say that I've been training well and with good intensity. I'm going to continue the punishment for a few more days... probably up though Sunday, August 2nd, and then I'm gonna kick it back and rest until the start.
Here are a few highlights of the last couple months...
Comfortably Numb in Whistler:
I skipped the bike park and opted instead for the famous, infamous, and notorious Comfortably Numb Trail that snakes through the valley from north of Whistler and back into the Village. I rented a decent XC/Trail hybrid kinda bike and took off up the Sea to Sky Highway to find the trailhead and a loop back to my hotel.
Comfortably Numb was a technical MMA-like fight on the bike. I enjoy technical riding so I'm not complaining, but I had to be cautious and walk some of the more extreme sections. I loved the rocky, rooty, XC sections... there is nothing flowy or fast on that entire trail, but its fun if you like to try and limit your dabs.
I think it is supposed to be about fourteen miles from trailhead to trailhead, after an 8-mile highway ride to get there. I was getting my ass kicked, but perversely enjoining it all the way through my lunch spot on a knoll overlooking Whistler Village. Seriously, I was sitting on a rock looking down towards the Village and my hotel.
Alright, lunch down, about 3 miles to get out so I was feeling completely worked but happy. But the trail kept going.... and going.... until finally I wound up back at the Al Grey Memorial Bridge just a few miles from where I started that morning! Somehow I became completely turned around and didn't even notice I was riding back on the same trail I had come in from. I was out of water and totally bummed for screwing up the track, but thank goodness I could take Young Lust trail out to the highway rather than beating myself up on the first miles of Numb again.
That was my only planned ride day, but my wife could sense my angst at dinner over screwing it up.... she said... you should rent another bike tomorrow morning.... isn't there a way to finish that thing off???
Well, in fact there was... a climb from Whistler Village called Yummy Numby that would link right back in to near the spot I had gotten lost.
So the next morning I did. And I walked a ton of that hellacious final descent. But I did see the whole trail and it was amazing. Finished up with several miles on the beautiful Lost Lake trails before cruising back to the hotel a happy man.
Comfortably Numb / Young Lust
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/517837965
Yummy Numby / Comfortably Numb / Lost Lake:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/517837997
Bikepacking - Colorado Trail - Waterton Canyon to Kenosha Pass:
For my CTR prep, I've been very curious about how I can ride this first section, so I decided to break it off on a 2-day bikepack trip starting at 6am, just like the CTR.
I had two fellow travelers along but we made a pact that we were independent and responsible for ourselves, so while we started out riding together for a couple hours, we soon split off to enjoy our own pace and plan.
I intentionally took it very easy at the start. If I have some setback during the CTR, I don't want to be comparing myself to some all-out preride from months back. I discovered a broken spoke merely 5 miles into the singletrack and I started to panic for a second since I didn't have a spare. I considered riding back out and finding a shop, yada yada... until I remembered a wonderful thing about bikepacking.... I had plenty of food and full camping gear and a blank slate on my schedule for that weekend.... so if the bike broke then it broke and I would deal with that if I had too. Turns out the wheel held up and I soon forgot all about it.
Completed section 1 to the South Platte in 2hr30min.... railed that descent on my Yeti SB66c (not my CTR bike this year though) and was feeling good.
Section 2 to Buffalo Creek was nice. I was getting in my groove and reached the start of section 3 @ 5 hours even.
I think I was picking up the intensity through section 3 because I really wanted to know when I could reach the Stagestop Saloon to see if a hot meal and any kind of decent resupply was available. I hit Wellington Lake at about 7 hours, ate a big meal and continued on....
Reached the pavement at Tarryall Road at 11hr45min.... filtered water and pushed on....
And then finally, just a little more than 2 hours later I reached the Stagestop Saloon and ate a fat cheeseburger and wings. So that was a little before 8pm.... good news for sure. I left there about 8:45 with intentions of riding to Kenosha Pass, but a flat tire soon convinced me to make camp and chill. I'd learned what I wanted so no big deal... I figured I'd practice getting up before dawn and continue on.
Set the alarm for 3:45 am.... didn't get up until 4:40 and was riding at 5:00.
Riding time from Stagestop to Kenosha was 3 hours so I'm hoping I can duplicate that at least during the race to reach Kenosha by midnight on Day 1.
This ride was mid-June and the snowpack still had Georgia Pass on lockdown, so I took highway 285 west to Boreas Pass and used that to get home in Silverthorne about noon the next day. Total about 160ish miles (gps died) in about 30 total hours so I was very happy.
Waterton Canyon to Stagestop Saloon
Firecracker 50
I don't race a whole lot, but almost every year I suit up for the Firecracker 50-miler on the 4th of July in Breckenridge. My first year living in Colorado, this race took me way over 6 hours to finish. Then 3 years ago, after adapting to these mountains and training harder, I managed a 5hr09min which got me 9th place in 40 year old Sport Class. Then came last year and my horrific going-blind experience and another 6+ hour finish.
So I wasn't sure what to expect for this year. I knew I'd been training hard, but at age 42+ I'm not getting any younger for sure.
Yet I somehow managed a 4hr48min and 3rd place (Sport Class) podium finish. Its been a while since I got to stand up there!
Very happy! Its nice to know I'm getting faster with age. Just hope to keep the improvement going.
Bikepacking - Colorado Trail - Tenmile Range to Marshall Pass
Mid-July I did a 3-day bikepacking trip on the Colorado Trail. I had a company golf tournament in the morning so I couldn't start until 5pm on Friday with the intention of reaching Marshall Pass in the early afternoon on Sunday.
This was the July 12 full moon weekend and the key for reaching these goals was an all-night sleepless push on Friday night.
This trip started right off with the Tenmile Range. The weather had been pounding rain all day, but as I started my climb from Frisco (using the Peaks trail to access the CT) the skied let up and continued to be non-threatening the whole way to the top of the pass.... until I got a look over the other side!
Huge sheets of windy rain and sleet raking the mountain. I threw on my rain clothes, losing my sunglasses in the process, and made a mad dash down to Copper. I was freezing cold so I skipped the annoying golf course traverse and rode straight to Endos Restaurant in the Village. Still, I had budgeted 5 hours for the Tenmile crossing and I completed it in 3hr15min so I was happy. I know I will be slower in the CTR so hopefully 5 hours is realistic after all.
I spent about an hour and a half at Endos eating about 2000 calories and drying my gloves in the bathroom. Finally about 9:45pm I started my climb to Searle Pass.
As I mentioned, I skipped a mile or two from highway 191 to the Copper summer road, but I got to Searle about midnight under a spectacular full moon. I was feeling great; not tired at all so I continued on over to Elk Ridge and Kokomo Pass. As I made the alpine crossing I noticed the clouds closing back in and the rain soon began to fall. I was mentally bummed to miss out on a full-moon ride, but what can you do other than put on the rain gear and keep going.
It was dark, late, and details are hazy, but I think I reached Tennessee Pass at about 4:30am.... ate a bit, regouped, and arrived in Leadville at 6am for a breakfast burrito at the bakery there. Drank coffee and kept it moving...
I love the singletrack near Twin Lakes... I got a second wind and busted that out pretty quickly.... rolled in to Buena Vista about 1pm. Huge Chocolate shake, giant cheeseburger and corndog and it was finally time for a little sleep. I took a 2hr nap in the park and woke up rejuvenated and feeling great.
It was 4:45pm Saturday when I left Buena Vista with very obscure goals about how far I would get before camp. I could not remember much about the two sections between Buena Vista and Highway 50. I would soon learn that the first was relatively easy, but the second from Mt. Princeton Hot Springs to Highway 50 is an ass-kicking, rocky technical hike-a-bike for the most part.
Looking at my map... I planned to camp at Mt. Shavano Trailhead, but upon reaching there, all ground was saturated and wet. I couldn't find anything resembling a campsite. After consulting my databook and fighting back tears, I knew I had to continue on to Angel of Shavano Trailhead for a good nights sleep. Thank goodness it was almost completely downhill. I finally crawled in to my bivy at 1am Sunday morning. Blessed Sleep!
Dawn came quick and I had food and water chores to do so I wasn't riding again until 7:15am.
Still, I was highly motivated to finish. My wife was going to meet me at Marshall Pass and I didn't want her waiting on me.
Hit Highway 50 just after 8am and began my final huge climb up the Fooses Creek Trail. It was surprisingly rideable for several miles and then so steep that I doubt any human can ride it except perhaps Jefe. Last part was brutal for sure, but I got there by 11:00am..... skies getting scary so after a quick bite I beat it down to Marshall Pass and got there at 11:45 am.
Overall, pretty happy with that. My kinda arbitrary splits had me getting there about 2pm, so I guess I was early???
I suppose we will find out soon during the real deal, the 2014 Colorado Trail Race!
Here are a few highlights of the last couple months...
Comfortably Numb in Whistler:
I skipped the bike park and opted instead for the famous, infamous, and notorious Comfortably Numb Trail that snakes through the valley from north of Whistler and back into the Village. I rented a decent XC/Trail hybrid kinda bike and took off up the Sea to Sky Highway to find the trailhead and a loop back to my hotel.
Comfortably Numb was a technical MMA-like fight on the bike. I enjoy technical riding so I'm not complaining, but I had to be cautious and walk some of the more extreme sections. I loved the rocky, rooty, XC sections... there is nothing flowy or fast on that entire trail, but its fun if you like to try and limit your dabs.
I think it is supposed to be about fourteen miles from trailhead to trailhead, after an 8-mile highway ride to get there. I was getting my ass kicked, but perversely enjoining it all the way through my lunch spot on a knoll overlooking Whistler Village. Seriously, I was sitting on a rock looking down towards the Village and my hotel.
Alright, lunch down, about 3 miles to get out so I was feeling completely worked but happy. But the trail kept going.... and going.... until finally I wound up back at the Al Grey Memorial Bridge just a few miles from where I started that morning! Somehow I became completely turned around and didn't even notice I was riding back on the same trail I had come in from. I was out of water and totally bummed for screwing up the track, but thank goodness I could take Young Lust trail out to the highway rather than beating myself up on the first miles of Numb again.
That was my only planned ride day, but my wife could sense my angst at dinner over screwing it up.... she said... you should rent another bike tomorrow morning.... isn't there a way to finish that thing off???
Well, in fact there was... a climb from Whistler Village called Yummy Numby that would link right back in to near the spot I had gotten lost.
So the next morning I did. And I walked a ton of that hellacious final descent. But I did see the whole trail and it was amazing. Finished up with several miles on the beautiful Lost Lake trails before cruising back to the hotel a happy man.
Comfortably Numb / Young Lust
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/517837965
Yummy Numby / Comfortably Numb / Lost Lake:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/517837997
Bikepacking - Colorado Trail - Waterton Canyon to Kenosha Pass:
For my CTR prep, I've been very curious about how I can ride this first section, so I decided to break it off on a 2-day bikepack trip starting at 6am, just like the CTR.
I had two fellow travelers along but we made a pact that we were independent and responsible for ourselves, so while we started out riding together for a couple hours, we soon split off to enjoy our own pace and plan.
I intentionally took it very easy at the start. If I have some setback during the CTR, I don't want to be comparing myself to some all-out preride from months back. I discovered a broken spoke merely 5 miles into the singletrack and I started to panic for a second since I didn't have a spare. I considered riding back out and finding a shop, yada yada... until I remembered a wonderful thing about bikepacking.... I had plenty of food and full camping gear and a blank slate on my schedule for that weekend.... so if the bike broke then it broke and I would deal with that if I had too. Turns out the wheel held up and I soon forgot all about it.
Completed section 1 to the South Platte in 2hr30min.... railed that descent on my Yeti SB66c (not my CTR bike this year though) and was feeling good.
Section 2 to Buffalo Creek was nice. I was getting in my groove and reached the start of section 3 @ 5 hours even.
I think I was picking up the intensity through section 3 because I really wanted to know when I could reach the Stagestop Saloon to see if a hot meal and any kind of decent resupply was available. I hit Wellington Lake at about 7 hours, ate a big meal and continued on....
Reached the pavement at Tarryall Road at 11hr45min.... filtered water and pushed on....
And then finally, just a little more than 2 hours later I reached the Stagestop Saloon and ate a fat cheeseburger and wings. So that was a little before 8pm.... good news for sure. I left there about 8:45 with intentions of riding to Kenosha Pass, but a flat tire soon convinced me to make camp and chill. I'd learned what I wanted so no big deal... I figured I'd practice getting up before dawn and continue on.
Set the alarm for 3:45 am.... didn't get up until 4:40 and was riding at 5:00.
Riding time from Stagestop to Kenosha was 3 hours so I'm hoping I can duplicate that at least during the race to reach Kenosha by midnight on Day 1.
This ride was mid-June and the snowpack still had Georgia Pass on lockdown, so I took highway 285 west to Boreas Pass and used that to get home in Silverthorne about noon the next day. Total about 160ish miles (gps died) in about 30 total hours so I was very happy.
Waterton Canyon to Stagestop Saloon
Firecracker 50
I don't race a whole lot, but almost every year I suit up for the Firecracker 50-miler on the 4th of July in Breckenridge. My first year living in Colorado, this race took me way over 6 hours to finish. Then 3 years ago, after adapting to these mountains and training harder, I managed a 5hr09min which got me 9th place in 40 year old Sport Class. Then came last year and my horrific going-blind experience and another 6+ hour finish.
So I wasn't sure what to expect for this year. I knew I'd been training hard, but at age 42+ I'm not getting any younger for sure.
Yet I somehow managed a 4hr48min and 3rd place (Sport Class) podium finish. Its been a while since I got to stand up there!
Very happy! Its nice to know I'm getting faster with age. Just hope to keep the improvement going.
Bikepacking - Colorado Trail - Tenmile Range to Marshall Pass
Mid-July I did a 3-day bikepacking trip on the Colorado Trail. I had a company golf tournament in the morning so I couldn't start until 5pm on Friday with the intention of reaching Marshall Pass in the early afternoon on Sunday.
This was the July 12 full moon weekend and the key for reaching these goals was an all-night sleepless push on Friday night.
This trip started right off with the Tenmile Range. The weather had been pounding rain all day, but as I started my climb from Frisco (using the Peaks trail to access the CT) the skied let up and continued to be non-threatening the whole way to the top of the pass.... until I got a look over the other side!
Huge sheets of windy rain and sleet raking the mountain. I threw on my rain clothes, losing my sunglasses in the process, and made a mad dash down to Copper. I was freezing cold so I skipped the annoying golf course traverse and rode straight to Endos Restaurant in the Village. Still, I had budgeted 5 hours for the Tenmile crossing and I completed it in 3hr15min so I was happy. I know I will be slower in the CTR so hopefully 5 hours is realistic after all.
I spent about an hour and a half at Endos eating about 2000 calories and drying my gloves in the bathroom. Finally about 9:45pm I started my climb to Searle Pass.
As I mentioned, I skipped a mile or two from highway 191 to the Copper summer road, but I got to Searle about midnight under a spectacular full moon. I was feeling great; not tired at all so I continued on over to Elk Ridge and Kokomo Pass. As I made the alpine crossing I noticed the clouds closing back in and the rain soon began to fall. I was mentally bummed to miss out on a full-moon ride, but what can you do other than put on the rain gear and keep going.
It was dark, late, and details are hazy, but I think I reached Tennessee Pass at about 4:30am.... ate a bit, regouped, and arrived in Leadville at 6am for a breakfast burrito at the bakery there. Drank coffee and kept it moving...
I love the singletrack near Twin Lakes... I got a second wind and busted that out pretty quickly.... rolled in to Buena Vista about 1pm. Huge Chocolate shake, giant cheeseburger and corndog and it was finally time for a little sleep. I took a 2hr nap in the park and woke up rejuvenated and feeling great.
It was 4:45pm Saturday when I left Buena Vista with very obscure goals about how far I would get before camp. I could not remember much about the two sections between Buena Vista and Highway 50. I would soon learn that the first was relatively easy, but the second from Mt. Princeton Hot Springs to Highway 50 is an ass-kicking, rocky technical hike-a-bike for the most part.
Looking at my map... I planned to camp at Mt. Shavano Trailhead, but upon reaching there, all ground was saturated and wet. I couldn't find anything resembling a campsite. After consulting my databook and fighting back tears, I knew I had to continue on to Angel of Shavano Trailhead for a good nights sleep. Thank goodness it was almost completely downhill. I finally crawled in to my bivy at 1am Sunday morning. Blessed Sleep!
Dawn came quick and I had food and water chores to do so I wasn't riding again until 7:15am.
Still, I was highly motivated to finish. My wife was going to meet me at Marshall Pass and I didn't want her waiting on me.
Hit Highway 50 just after 8am and began my final huge climb up the Fooses Creek Trail. It was surprisingly rideable for several miles and then so steep that I doubt any human can ride it except perhaps Jefe. Last part was brutal for sure, but I got there by 11:00am..... skies getting scary so after a quick bite I beat it down to Marshall Pass and got there at 11:45 am.
Overall, pretty happy with that. My kinda arbitrary splits had me getting there about 2pm, so I guess I was early???
I suppose we will find out soon during the real deal, the 2014 Colorado Trail Race!
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