When the email started going around about the Tibble Fork dirt ride set for this morning I had no interest. Last Friday a group did this ride and although fun, it was BRUTAL (see Fatty, Dug, and Brad‘s write up). 2:17:00 in riding time for a mere 12.05 miles. That all changed however when Mark offered to bring a post ride breakfast buffet! I don’t know what was better the Mud downhill, the crusted-sugar croissants or the cinnamon rolls. Rachel you are the BOMB.
Archive for July, 2009
Right on schedule
Posted in Training on July 22, 2009 by VH1In a tweet yesterday from evilbanks, he reminded me that Leadville is only 25 days away, and needless to say I got a little nervous. I have been away on vacation/work for 5 of the past 7 weeks.
While driving down to St. George last night (for work), I tried to remember how much I actually trained last year. It seemed this year I haven’t had as many rides(as compared to 08), but the ones I have had this year were slightly longer. I just did an analysis of my riding/training data this year vs. last year and found something interesting. I have had fewer rides this year, but I am actually 16 minutes of training/riding time ahead of where I was last year at this same time. This was super-nerdy but made me feel a little better about what is awaiting me in a few SHORT weeks.
VH1 back online
Posted in Vacation on July 20, 2009 by VH1Finally back from our Euro-style summer vacation. I love summer!!!
Capitol Reef Road Race
Posted in Races with tags road race on July 20, 2009 by VH1The route was basically the circuit course in reverse as well as the TT course from the day prior. In total this route was 52 miles. Right off the bat I knew the legs were garbage as I was nearly dropped on the first climb. Over the next 30 miles I tried to find something in the tank, but the solo effort and heat from the day prior left me empty. I was racing against a high school buddy that I haven’t seen in 15 years, so I spent the time catching up on him and his family. Just a side note, he is a tri-guy and has never ridden in a pack. Lets just say it was scary and dangerous anytime he went for a waterbottle! At mile 32 we had a feed zone. The chomps and carborocket Holly handed off were a lifesaver. I still almost got dropped on the climb out of Fremont, but was able to hang on. The pack stayed together until the last climb which was 5km long and that same distance from the finish. I was able to find a little form and was able to finish the climb strong.
Big props to JDUB who was riding strong. I have never seen him ride better!
Result:5 of 18
Capitol Reef Circuit Race
Posted in Races with tags road race on July 20, 2009 by VH117 miles in 103 degree temps, sounds fun doesn’t it? Mark has a good write up of this race. I scouted the course earlier in the day and found the perfect place to breakaway, if the legs were feeling good I was going to go near the bottom of the second climb (Donkey Flats road). The group was together and team Evo was setting the pace(they held the top 4 TT times). At Donkey Flats I went for it solo style. Within 30 seconds I thought I was going to die, but held on for the next 3.2 miles to take the solo win. Who would have thought I was a breakaway guy? Anyway I don’t know why but the timers gave everyone the same time. I finished about 100 yards in front of the 2 chasers and an additional 100 yards in front of the 2nd chase group. Oh well, if it were not cat 5 I would have complained. It was cool to get my first road win, and even cooler to do it on a solo run to the line.
Result:1 of 18
Capitol Reef TT
Posted in Races on July 20, 2009 by VH1I learned a couple things from the Capitol Reef stage race this past weekend:
First- It hurts to go from a week on a houseboat to a max effort in a TT.
Second-A TT setup including a forward saddle and aerobars require practice.
Third-If you don’t do well on the TT, chances are you wont win the stage race.
With this being said, I finished the 8 mile course in a little over 19 minutes. The top 3 finished roughly 2 minutes faster.
Result: 10 of 18
Ninja miles
Posted in Training with tags leadville on July 20, 2009 by VH1Most people think I have been on vacation for the past 2 months. This is mostly true, but I was able to sneak in some ninja miles. Training is on schedule for Leadville, and hopefully I will be able to decide on a gear. After 2 recon outings I have narrowed the choice down to 2. Single speeders what do you recommend? Would you prefer to SUFFER on the climbs or lose time on the flats?
High Uinta Freeze Out
Posted in Races with tags road race on July 20, 2009 by VH1Lets just say it has taken me a month to thaw out from this race. JDub and SkullCandy give good write ups of the conditions, however I think they were WORSE than reported. I narrowly escaped an ambulance ride into Evanston due to hypothermia, and happily rode the senior citizen bus to the finish from the Bear River service center. Congrats go to Adam for finishing! Despite the cold I actually felt pretty good on the long climb to the summit.
