I am migrating this blog / info to another site, so in the meantime find me on Facebook or Twitter
Happy 2009,
glen
Not much to say lately. Trying to get ready to race this weekend, but really just need some sleep. Fall is coming, and the last few weeks have been typical later season riding - that is riding with lights for most/al of my early AM jaunts.
Just received my USAC upgrade, leaping light years ahead from CAT5 to CAT3.
I am so hosed now! It's good, but will be hard. I hope I can help out some of the faster guys get some results - especially at the State RR championships coming up soon. Finally hit a level of fitness that allows me to go really hard during short and medium length intervals. Leg burning hard. Cross-eyed hard. Make you feel like you're about to explode hard!
It's cathartic, and it's been a long while. Threshold wattage is up to about 340, but my weight is only now starting to inch down. This morning, after the elastic snapped and I came off the rear on the 'A' Group (road) Ride, I tried, dug, fought, and clawed for a 22-24 minute effort WAY over FTP (right around P/W of 5), but still could not regain a wheel. The fellas let me back on at a major turn out to the west of town, and we pedaled a moderate tempo the rest of the way. I've been tossing myself into the pain locker in a big way on Tuesdays and Thursdays, riding anywhere from 45 minutes to 1.5 hours PRIOR to meeting up with these hammers. Today I got in about 1h 15m before the 6AM departure, and was worked - but not totally toasted from the steep hills work I had done prior.
What else?
My shoulder works! Last year, in May - I wrecked my left shoulder and did some minor rotator cuff damage that has taken 16-17 months to heal right. Upshot is I can once again start doing push-ups, which have been a sorely missed part of he workout regiment. This morning, when I got home, dropped, and did some - Victor thought it was great fun - slapping my back, putting his sippy-cup of milk by my face, and then he tried to do some of his own! These sort of moments make up for - WAY more than make up for - all those 'other' moment. Between some light upper body work, and some light jogging - I may be in shape for CX season after all.
Then there's the weight thing.
Irritatingly enough, my dang weight just keeps hovering at about 79kg (a tick under 175lbs). This has me around a paltry 4.3 Power / Weight ratio. Ech. Oddly, my Body Fat % number is dropping - so I guess I'm regaining a little muscle mass, which I know in the longer run helps metabolize more calories, which is good. In the meantime, I decided recently to cut out most all beer - but will enjoy a glass or two of wine here and there. Also tweaking the food/meal schedule at home, which was long overdue! It's in part due to wanting to be good role models for Victor - as opposed to the free-form grazing and snacking and meals-on-the-fly model we currently employ. The last dietary step is to reduce carbs to a minimum - taking in appropriate amounts for post-ride glycogen restoration (can you say fruit smoothies? YUM!), and general energy reserve topping-off. This is very difficult as an avowed cookies, chips, and bread J-U-N-K-I-E.
Will.
Try.
To.
Stay.
Strong.
Anyhow - a few weeks to go before back-to-back weekends of racing; First 'cedropalooza' - the NM State Championship Race outside of Albuquerque, and then the Oak Flats Road Race - the NM State Road Championships. Then what? Who knows! CX season should fire up in early October - so look for a bunch of those reports when the mayhem begins.
It's been about a year and a half since my last real race, and race report. All I can say is that I still like racing! Not much of a contender anymore, but that's OK. The 2008 version of the infamous (around here) Pajarito (pah-ha-REE-toe) Punishment' took place (and it's toll) this past Saturday at the Pajarito Ski Area. This race has a lot of history in the New Mexico Off-Road Series, and has evolved and morphed over the years. I've been fortunate to race a number of iterations of it; from multiple laps at the ski area, to various versions of an epic loop style event. The mountain backs up against a masive area that was devasted in 2000 by the Cerro Grande fire - which is why the race retreated to a smaller lap-style format at the ski area, as a number of the epic loop trails were destroyed by fire and post-fire erosion. After many years of hard work, we reclaimed some of the trails, mainly through the hard work of the Los Alamos Tuff Riders, and the 'Multi Agency Volunteer Task Force' headed up by Craig Martin. Untold hundereds (thousands?) of man-power hours and we reclaimed a pristine, technical trail along Guaje (wah-HEE) ridge. This connected the ski area to other trails that dropped you down into town, where the race used to loop back to the base of a long, brutal climb back up to the ski area. The race ran this way for a few seasons these last few years, but the fellow that had spearheaded the effort has become a new daddy recently, and had to pass the reins along.
In comes Gary and the Pajarito Ski Area folks - in a big way!
The new promoter announced (to the dismay of some) the race format would return to a more intimate, family-friendly 'laps style' course that utilized the base area lodge as an expo / staging area. Seemed wise as a new promoter to not try and tackle all the in-town police, marshaling, and other logistical headaches that came with the monster loop route. I know a lot of the trails at the ski area made for some wicked, brutal, 'real' XC mountain bike racing that would heavily favor technically capable riders who had some lungs too! Plus, the crew at the ski area have been hard at work for years adding both XC and DH trails all over the place - so I was curious to see what evil concoction of a course Gary had in mind. He did not let down! Somehow he designed a course that felt very different, and a lot of it very new - so it kept even experienced locals guessing - and working. I perceived the climb as 3 distinct parts - lower (hard) middle (harder / technical) and upper (harder, technical, and at 10k feet!). Pre-riding was very wise, and my buddy and I did (2) laps the week before - and were impressed. The mix of familiar and new was great - and they ran the course in the opposite direction I'm used to. All in all it felt almost entirely new! And harder. The nay-sayers should be put at ease, as this race was indeed going to punish despite not having the "epic loop" format. To spread things out at the beginning, we race out of a big dirt parkig lot, onto some two-track, then out some moderate XC ski trails which were about the size of ATV two-track - so there was ample time to 'spread things out'. This initial loop took perhaps 20 - 25 minutes at race pace, and had some faster sections that were tricky due to tall grass obscuring boulders (aka pedal/tire land mines!). Then we came back out the dirt road and up into the ski area, and single-track trails 'proper'. From there, it got serious mighty quick.
Weeks prior, I talked to my wife Dana about trying to make a family outing out of the event - and so race day morning we piled my little dude, herself, my buddy Rich (also racing) and his wife, our friend Tanya into the Outback and headed north to the venue. Nice having an awesome event less than an hour from home! Seems between work and family pressures, I'm just not inclined to drive the endless hours, all alone - that I used to to go race anywhere and everywhere. Phoenix for a Marathon Nationals? Sure, why not.. it's only 8 hours away... Steamboat Springs, CO? Well OK! Also about 8 hours. Perhaps the crescendo was in 2005, right after Hurricane Katrina drove gas prices up to near $5 a gallon - I showed how addicted I was, when I drove the 16 hours to Mammoth, CA for the NORBA Nationals - where I got sick and tanked anyhow. Let's just say that over the years I've had a few races... Fast forward to NOV 2006 and life changed dramatically with the arrival of our son, Victor.
Life shifted abruptly not only with a new kiddo, bit three weeks prior, I was also laid off. Fun times! I was very fortunate to land a job at perhaps the most solid firm in Santa Fe - which pays great, is secure, and has some decent benefits. Stability comes at a price when you work for someone else - and I now had much less time (previous job was a 4-day work week) with a new, intense job, and a new, more intense kid! Training and racing took a back seat mighty quick. Through May 2007 I tried to train, and raced at Angel FIre - at a huge Mountain States Cup event, where I utterly wrecked myself. With the lack of fitness, and some serious injuries resulting from a botched Super-D race - I went into early race retirement. I did emerge in the fall with a new found Cyclocross addiction and raced a few of the NMCX series races - and had a blast! This was all because Rich started talking it up, and racing them himself too. Short, intense, fun - and my wife and kid could see me the whole race! I owe Rich an awful lot for motivating me to try a number of things. It was his fault I started the XC Racing Odyssey in 2003 that led to a whole lot of mania, and fitness. This season, I felt so out of shape and slow - I never really motivated to train/race - until these last few weeks. I raced a few road events and felt like I wasn't totally washed up just yet, and so felt like I'd at least not be DFL at Pajarito!
Or so I hoped...
So off we head, across the Rio Grande valley, down then up to the high desert mesa government hide-out and birthplace of the Atom Bomb. Los Alamos sits at about 7,000 ft. elevation - and the Pajarito base area is up at about 9,000 feet. I was surprised at the large turnout so early - as we rolled into the parking lot at about 7:45AM. This was going to be GOOD!
Security:
Rich and I headed up to registration, and as race promoters ourselves, were curious to se how these rookies would do. All I can say is they had there program together far more than a lot of very experienced promoters. We were greeted by a gal screening folks for pre-reg, category, and license info. Then we were directed to a very organized staff that pulled our waivers, packets, and bib numbers out - and presto! We were done. Wow. Gary nailed it. We'll see about course marking and results and all - but shoot, A+ effort for registration set-up! Surely they screwed something up.... Back to the car and start prepping, and discussed bottle hand up plans with Tanya - who made me practice so we had it 100% nailed. Cool! Dana and Victor started scoping out a place to hang out - which meant a place where Victor could run himself silly without getting in the way, or hurt. Things were rolling.
I did something i haven't done in two year: pulled the trainer out and started to warm up! At Angel Fire all I did was ride around to warm up, which meant getting blood flowing to massive contusions at the time. This time, I felt like an actual, structured warm-up would be prudent. Despite feeling pretty good - I was a little sluggish. I learned (the day after the race in fact) that even pretty tame over the counter sleep aids like the Tylenol PM I took - would likely lead to pronounced grogginess the next day. Doh! I did sleep well - a rarity with a high maintenance almost two year old - but was not 'peppy'. Ah well - hind sight is always 20/20.
Photo of Rich by James Rickman
Mountain Flyer Article LINK.
Anyhow - I cranked through the efforts I had done dozens of times in years past, and felt as ready as could be. I saw they started staging folks up, so off I went. Lining up with some of the sick-fastest racers I know, I felt pretty silly, I was cool and calm - but felt like a poser for some reason. To my left, Mike McCalla - recent FireCracker 50 2nd place pro mens finisher. Next to him, the incredible Damian 'D-Rock' Calvert, a guy who has beaten Travis Brown and Ned Overend at regional races! Next to him, a fellow local hammer and much fitter friend, my pre-ride buddy known affectionately as Chappy. WTF am I doing here? Well, racing - that's what!
Off we go. I hit the wide-ish single-track in 7th or 8th place - but hold no illusions as to how long I can stay here. Sure enough before we exit the XC ski trails loop, it seems like all the Pro/Expert men have gone by, and the Pro/Expert ladies are storming not too far behind - as well as a few VERY fast Sport Class racers (there were 15 second waves). I'm OK with it all, as I know how hard the course is, how hard I can go, and how to pace myself. As we head up the first climb, I come back by a few folks, but generally stay at a sustainable pace and grind away. Powering through the steeper technical terrain I do better - but don't have the punch to ride a harder tempo on the less technical sustained climbs. I did crest the top faster than I thought - but no one was in sight. Well, aside from the Hammer Nutrition / Elete neutral support guys! Awesome - cold, fresh HEED in paper cups made a perfect topping to he first lap climb. I take my time and have some gel from my flask, drink some water, slug some HEED and prepare to descend. Some dude passes me just before the descent begins in earnest but realizes his mistake as I easily end up on his wheel as he struggles with the fast, technical descents.
He lets me by, I drop him.
I still go down fast! At the base, I see the best thing in the whole world (not the heinous 2nd lap climb / finish line) - my little dude clapping for me! Well, to be fair, he was clapping for all the racers... must have picked it up from the Tour de France coverage I subjected him to. Then, on cue Tanya hands me an icy cold drink and life is good. But god, the climb hurts like a mofo, and I start thinking "what the hell am I doing here?". Bah. Racing! That's what. After a bit I start feeling pretty good and climb away. Now I start passing the odd straggler - bonking, fixing flats, or otherwise in worse shape than I. Cresting the top, I thank the Hammer guys, drink some more HEED and hit the descent.
About a mile and a half from the finish, the course rolls up and down in sort of false flat power section, and I goose it through here. Maybe I'll reel in one or two others - but am just stoked to be out racing and (as yet) not having flatted, crashed, or otherwise screwed up. Alas, I see no one as I hit the fast dirt road to the ski lodge - and turn up the last kick to the finish and THEN see a guy in my group - 15 seconds too late. He is utterly cracked, but only 10 meters from the finish line. I stand and hammer, "fly" under the Finish banner - then pass him. Ah well. Just reinforces the fact one should race the whole race, until the very end - as there is always the chance someone else will be in worse trouble...
I find the rest of the crew and check the preliminary results - and off we go to pack up. Rich fought hard for a great 5th place finish in an insanely fast, stacked 30-39 sport mens group. I too ended up 5th - in the 30-39 expert group, just behind my racer acquaintance - Marty. Change, pile into car, and off we go. Victor falls asleep almost immediately - and all is good. Rolling back through Los Alamos, we get through the military check points, and head 'down the hill' back to Santa Fe. All I can say is don't take sleeping pills before a race, and thanks to all the Pajarito folks for putting on a great race. They even had a pro timer guy who was cranking out results as fast they happened. Anyone interested in riding some incredible, high alpine XC or DH / AM trails - check out otherwise sleepy little Los Alamos.
Work has been 100% manic lately.
Not one moment to breath.
Not one.
Sneak a ride in, sneak a race in. It's good when it's good, and sad when it ain't. Last few weeks have been a blur. Pre-rode the Pajarito Punishment course - should be suitably brutally hard. Raced the 'Bonanza Creek Classic as a CAT4/5 wanker - and did pretty lousy. Raced the Santa Fe Hill Climb as a CAT 4/5 wanker and did pretty good. For some reason, I just don't have the oompf needed to really push in training - which means I have few matches, or hard efforts - at the races. Had a few daytime rides, as the mornings are getting dark WAY too quick.
Bonanza Creek (BC) Classic
As a fresh USAC licensed racer with less than 10 mass-start road races under my belt, I'm relegated to the CAT 5 group, despite being an expert mountain bike racer, and having the good fortune to regularly ride with - and get stomped by - CAT1/2/3 guys. I mention it as most of my peers race in the higher CAT's, so I'm stuck making alliances at the start line. BC was put on by the Pedal Queens out of Santa Fe - and they did a fantastic job! The course is an 18 ile loop south of town, and typically favors a "power guy" like myself. No sustained climbs or steep spots - just a lot of open, rolling, road. Thankfully, I'd have (1) ally in the group - my good buddy Rich. We tried to convince each other to NOT pull at the front, but the best laid plans lay waste sometimes, as do the hastily made ones!
Off we go for 3 laps. It's a wobbly, feisty, twitchy group indeed. 2 or 3 teams are represented with more than 3 racers, so we watch them. On the second lap (the first was entirely uneventful, and no one crashed, thankfully) a rider attacks off the front. Naturally, he's got some team mates in the peloton who immediately try and control the field with downright lousy race tactics. Myself and a few others - who are aware of what is happening - aren't buying this load of crap. Of course, it means we have to work harder to counter the poor riding by these guys. Of the 25 pr so racers, only a handful seemed to know 'what was up' and so those of us 'in the know' watched the lone attacker flail about a minute up the road.
He did that for a whole lap!
In the meantime, there were a number of accelerations, and I seemed compelled to go chase them ALL down. I figured I'd have to get in ONE that would stick - but instead ground myself to a pulp needlessly, and turned onto the last stretch of road feeling cooked. We reeled in the attack, then the fun began. I responded to one, then another pre-finish launch, then I was done. I sat up and watched the 10-12 surivors (who had ridden smart and not pulled) duke it out on the uphill finish, then came through myself.
Ah well. Lesson learned? Stick to the plan!
Santa Fe Hill Climb
Why oh why would I do THIS race? A big doofus like me, as adept at climbing on a road bike as a penguin is at climbing trees? Because I can ride to the start from my house - all of 2 miles away, and I wanted to see if I could actually make a plan and stick to it in a race this time. Oh yes - I had a plan!
'Ride' at a sustainable pace up through the steepest section, then see what's left and ride hard.
This would be after 9+/- miles, above 'Hyde State Park' - with about 7 miles to go. The course is straight up from town, at 7,000 ft. elevation - to 10,200 ft. elevation at the Santa Fe Ski Basin parking lot. There are two short descents, and the rest is climbing. Typically moderate - at 4.5 - 5.5 percent grade - but with a nasty 1.5 miles or so of 8% grade in the middle. We call it 'the wall'.
The race started en masse - everyone at once - probably 110 - 120 riders sorted by category. Thankfully no one punched it on the initial steep kick, and so the group was pretty orderly through the first 6 miles - up to the local landmark known as 'Nuns Corner', the first quick descent (named after a van load of nuns swerved off the road years ago). Once the road went up again, it got interesting. Immediately the pack split into two, with dozens of stragglers in between, and off the back. I stayed in the second group, but it blew apart in a mile. I could care less. I was pedaling at my prescribed rate and output.
Hyde Park came and went, so I upped the pace some - reeling in a fast masters buddy and riding with him for a while. Then we picked up 1-2 more, and had a little group. Al I would do (while pulling mostly) was stand and hammer on the steep kicks - usually at switchbacking corners - and we'd be strung out. I'd ease off and we'd regroup. We did this for a while. Towards the end, I realized I conserved a bit too much - and punched it on the last pat of the main climb, past a CAT 1/2 guy, and down a slight descent. Mr. CAT1/2 came around and pulled me a mile up the road, working too hard for a skinny guy - and just as the road kicked up for the last few hundred meters to the finish - I mashed my big ring and came around him - finishing in a solid solo sprint.
Time must have been 1:11 or 1:12. Not bad for a slacker!
I am trying to keep up the volume AND intensity on the bike(s) - and trying to keep up the postings here; but I'm just slow (at both!).
After last Wednesday's lunch ride - I went out and killed the hill climbing workouts on Thursday (Cameron was rocketing up the steeps like Andy Schleck on Crack!), then took Friday off. Then, alas - had to take Saturday off for house related reasons. Bleh. I did take Victor out for a few hours of trail work on the Little Tesuque Creek trail - which got mangled in a freak deluge last week (3" of rain in 27 minutes!). 2 days off the bike + a few hours hiking and manual labor makes a guy feel like crap.
Sunday I went out for the weekly Galisteo Group Ride - which was composed of myself, and one other guy! Doh. Everyone was up racing at Tour de Los Alamos (Go McCalla and Cam!). Our little NM road series is drawing some regional hammers, like Anthony Colby out of Durango - helping keep our fast guys honest. The result was that most of the regulars were either racing or helping out. So Sunday's ride was far easier than usual. Greg, my company for the ride, was sporting an insanely tricked out Time road bike - complete with the weirdest, low profile carbon rims I've ever seen. Me and my ghetto Scattante kept up just fine, and in fact pulled most of the way home - drilling some hefty 550-600 watt pulls up the rollers in the last 10 miles. He sat on mostly - but would come around for a minute here and there to give me a little break - then I'd stand up, gradually wind it up and push on again.
Good stuff!
I was trashed Monday a.m. - so settled for a very Mellow 2 hour mtn. bike ride. Did some local Dale Ball Trails stuff, then headed up Hyde Park Road to the same Little Tesuque Creek trail mentioned above - and while the meager improvements I made were great - there is a lot of work to do further in. There are a few places - including the trail head itself - that have always needed major work, or re-routing - but now need work desperately. The trail head forks right off the pavement, creating a nasty little drainage - which looked like it was ripped apart with a 12" - 16" deep erosion channel right down the middle. A number of areas where the creek and the trail are right next to each other need shoring up - or re-routing entirely, as the raging creek tore a whole lot of the bank away.
Then further in, behind Bishops Lodge - a fancy wild west resort type of place, that leads horse tours and has a shooting range, as well as a spa - there was fresh damage on top of erosion from horse traffic out hen the trail was too soft / muddy. Yay. Post holes everywhere.
This mornings edition of Tuesday / Thursday Worlds was moderate (thankfully) but well attended. As usual, I did 1+ hours of climbing drills and tempo work prior to the group departure (6AM) but then peeled off early to get home to help out before the day really began. At least I got to sleep fairly well, especially compared to the night before where at 130AM I was up to check on a howling Victor - and ended up on my ass as I quickly through a leg up to get over the 'baby gate' at his door. The (supposedly) planted foot slid away as I high-stepped and WHAM! On my ass/shoulder in a flash of boxer shorts and cursing. Not an entirely atypical night though.... worth it? Yes. Easy? No.
Victor in front of a 'horno' - an ancient oven used for baking breads and such - on a recent trip to the Jemez:
Met up with a few fellas for a quickie ride - from town out to Rancho Viejo for three loops of fun, rolling, power work. What was weird was riding mid-day! It felt hotter than hell, and hurt in different ways. Chris noted that my vampire-like schedule was downright weird - which it is - but what can a guy do? Ride when the there's time to ride.
Great circuit that winds around Rancho Viejo and the IAIA (Institute of American Indian Arts) campus. Rolls up, down, left, right ad would be a great spot for some racing, as Jim noted. All told, I got to sneak in a 1.5 hour ride that left me pretty wiped, but feeling good after a number of 600+ watt 'attacks' up and over some of the gentle climbs. Thankfully, after a few months of solid riding - 320 watts does not feel like all that much anymore, whereas last winter it would hurt quite a bit more over any sustained (5 - 10 minutes, or more) periods.
What a perfect morning! Cool, calm, and slightly humid. Did a quickie recovey ride after yesterdays team group road ride throw-down, where I chased National tandem TT champ John Verheul (he recently won the 90+ group with Andy Coggan) and another guy for 15+ minutes of agony towards the end. Good stuff, and saw (2) items on my PowerTap I've not seen in a long while; one was that chase - which netted an average of 360 watts over 16 something minutes - and that was after the peppy first 1.5 hours of the ride. Two - a solid 450+ watt 4 minute effort up 'Lamy Hill' after dangling at the bottom but steadily crankin' up from behind and cresting the top smooth and steady - where I chased down JV before he launched his blistering effort up the road. I had not realized the top of the hill was a regrouping point - and damned if I'm going to ease up / slow down the little inertia I had just hammered to achieve! Ah well, next time.
Other highlights included a good sized group - perhaps 12 or 13 riders - including an extremely strong gal from Los Alamos Irene (?), the aforementioned champ and local coach John Verheul, super bad-ass local Jim 'Waz' Warsa who turns the biggest gear I've ever seen, and Tony no Baloney - back from a fractured hip, Matt " I just ran two hours" Desmond, Charlie Two Jerseys Drysdale - as well as some new faces, which is always good. The regular Galsiteo Ride feels different every single time I do it, as the make-up of the group is always very different - which translates into a wild variety of efforts in the 50 - something mile route. We held a steady pace right from the start - hammered a sloppy sketchy paceline down to Lamy, turned onto HWY 41 and started smoothing the rotations out a bit. John and I acted as the fussy patriarchs, urging folks to pull through smoothly and ease off a notch once rotated. Down near the turnaround, one blistering sprint came off the back - I dove ahead and grabbed a wheel - but then noted it was WAY too early, as there were many hundreds of meters to go - so the smarter faster folks flew by me. Ah well - next time!
We regrouped, headed out of town back toward Santa Fe - and it was on (see above chase comment).
This morning was a quickie north of town; up and out Old Taos Highway down to the Opera, back through Tesuque, and the nice climb up Bishops Lodge Road. Legs were not peppy - but were solid and felt just fine for the effort. 330 watts up the main climb for 8 or 9 minutes...
After a couple of weeks on the new road bike - a bargain basement frame/fork built up with SRAM Red - I'm hooked. The Red Cranks are the stiffest cranks I have ever spun in circles. The shifters are crisp and precise. The brakes are brutally powerful. The Easton EA90SL wheels are stiff and fast. I finally put the PowerTap back on and though suffered the weight gain, am seeing some good numbers (for me).
Little by little!
Big Loops in Santa Fe
Not much time to type these things up anymore, but here goes;
After a sleepless July 4th / Friday night, where here in the barrio celebrations include drinking from sun up to well after sun down, and of course, a series of local fireworks 'displays' - I still felt OK - at least enough so to try and tackle the most wicked ride I've ever tried: The Santa Fe chapter in the NMES (New Mexico Endurance Series) book of events, aka Mighty Matt's legacy of torture and the "crown jewel" of the seres.
I apologize for having to start, unofficially, prior to the more formal gangs' departure. No sign ins, no sign outs - just a guy, his bike, and a stopwatch. No GPS receiver, no maps, no HR monitor, PowerTap, or SRM crankset to track progress. How refreshing, and bold, and daring! I did coordinate some feed drops with 2 other friends, so that at strategic points (the ski basin, and the base of Pacheco Canyon Rd) we'd have fuel to top off the tanks and venture on.
I know all the trails, connectors, creek crossings, and pavement stretches like the back of my hand - as the course is most everything I ride from here in town anyhow - though I'd never attempt such a monstrous ride outside some sort of semi/organized adventure. Prepped the Yeti ASR, loaded up and charged the iPod, stuffed my jersey pockets, and hit the road in near-darkness. I was as ready as I could be - despite not having any rides over 3-4 hours in the last 6 months, I've had some good shorter / harder efforts with the crack crew on Tuesday / Thursday mornings (one of these hammers set what I believe will be a benchmark that stands for a long, long time - more on that sub-story later).
I spun over to 2nd Street Brewery, the official start/finish locale, punched the start button on my stopwatch and turned east, heading towards the first challenge of the day - Atalya Mountain. 1700 feet of climbing (so they tell me) up some of the steepest, most sustained, and nasty single-track in all of Santa Fe! Oof. Then down the backside via Dale Ball Trails south to Dale Ball Trails Central to Hyde Park Road. Chandler had indeed built an impressive cairn at the key intersection - which made it impossible to miss now. This first stretch was a real eye opener! I hit the pavement in some minutes over two hours. Ouch! Slow start - but lot's more to come. Notable was a minor crash on the last part of the descent, where a branch reached out and stabbed my right shin - causing me to over-react and biff off the opposite side of the trail. Doh! No real harm done. I just HATE the freaking Mike Wirtz style trail work / construction here in 'town', as it's usually too tight, too close, too off camber, prone to tree attacks (like this one) and generally executed half-assed. I must send him a copy of the IMBA Trail Solutions Handbook....
Anyhow - onward and upward!
About 3.5 miles up the pavement, the real fun begins. Climbing Chamisa is certain to blow any residual carbon out of the engine, as the first 3/10th's of a mile go straight up. It sort of eases up and becomes more fun, and is a textbook example of how to build trails in Santa Fe. Perfect, flowing, beautiful single-track that quickly gets one away from civilization. I was going even slower then I thought I would - as my stomach seemed atypically unsettled. Bleh. Not good. I did know there would be a chemical toilet later on, up the mountain - and hoped to make it to there. Of course, it then occurred to me that I should have packed some TP! I never really have 'that' problem - so I never thought about it. At the saddle - 1/2 way in Chamisa, the intersection for Serpant taunted me, as if to say "see you in 5-6 hours, and I'll kick yer ass when you're really thrashed"! I'm sure it will, but in the meantime - bombing down the backside of Chamisa is always fun, and I felt great at the bottom.
Climbing Winsor was nice, and I started picking up the pace just slightly. By the time I got to Big T campground, I felt that if I rode the next stretch of trail smart, I'd hit Aspen Vista and kick up the pace a bit more. I stopped at the toilets - but alas, no TP - so I figured I'd check in at the next set - at the base of the ski area, in a little while. The trail that climbs up and out of the campground is another nasty piece of work. Huffin' through it, I got to the road a little more spent than I'd have liked to have been - but so it goes.
Once on Aspen Vista, I tried upping the pace - but my stomach said NO. So I rode easy middle ring the whole way, and hit Tesuque Peak, at the pin - in about 4 hours and 30 minutes. Pretty lame! Ah well.... next time. Had a snack, drank some drink, then unlocked all the suspension systems for the rippin' 2000 foot descent through the ski area. Hit the bottom and felt good then! Adrenaline will do that.
Found drop point #1, loaded up with pack (a rarity for me) and hit the next section; Rio en Medio to Aspen Ranch to Boreggo to Rancho Viejo. I was more conservative than usual on the nasty parts of the descents - fearing for my well being - and my sidewalls! The recent rains have absolutely hammered a lot of the trails - which looked more like drainage ravines than single-track now. Amazing how things can change in a few short weeks. The little climb out of Rio en Medio was a mud bog of cow poop and greasy trail. Mmmmmmm..... Once above the irrigation ditch that peels off WAY up here, it got nice. REAL nice! Coming down into Aspen Ranch, and out/up Boreggo was great. Things started clicking, and the stomach settled down some. Blazing through the cool dark woods on these remote and primitive trails is pure joy. Hit the creek crossings and steep climbs they signaled with a big old smile on my face. Climbing the last, hard ridable climb of the day - after Nambe River - I even felt good. The last long, meandering descent into the Capulin Drainage was fantastic - and I really felt good, picking the right lines, hopping over some of the trees that were down, and generally railing the faster parts - sidewalls be damned!
Coming down through the meadow was joy - and as close to Wilderness us two-wheeled freaks are allowed. The trail was great, the temps were perfect, and it finally occurred to me that wow! How come no one has caught me yet?
I had to foot it across the next two creek crossings, and once I was about a 1/4 mile up trail 179 (seriously nasty hike-a-bike) I heard squealing Marta's in the distance. Ah well - hopefully it was my good buddy Chandler! He was due anytime now, and was naturally right on time. Once getting through the hike-a-bike portion, I cranked away up and over the first of two ridges that meant we were headed back to Rio en Medio - and on the flowy fun trails I heard a pop / wshhhhwshhhwshhhhhhhh from the rear..... that signaled tire destruction. I aired her up, rode on, but no-go. A small tear in the sidewall required a tube - but no boot, thankfully - and it was when I was about 1/2 way through the repair that a spry Chandler rounded a corner and said "hey"! Checking to make sure I was good to go, he was ready to move on - and I urged him so, as he was on fire - on the way to an 8ish hour time! Go man, go.
Got back to riding, and took it a tad bit easier.
By the time I rejoined Rio en Medio, I was feeling ready for the next, and last - leg. Rolled out through the 'town' of en Medio, over to Pacheco Canyon Road - and up about 1.5 miles to our refueling / drop zone #2. Saw Chandler as he was about to leave, dumped my pack, ate some Fritos, chugged a 16 oz. Starbucks Vanilla Frappucino and some water, restocked my bottles from the ice chest, and hit the climb after a 6 minute pit stop and one, big, burp.
I hit the climb at a good tempo, but holy smokes! It was HOT out. It was right around 1230PM and while there seemed to be clouds everywhere - there were none to cover these exposed dirt road portions. Ooof. I do fine in the dark. I do fine in the cold. Hell - I do fine in the dark cold! But this kind of heat sucks the life right out of me, right-quick. I drank a lot, and raced from shady spot to shady spot. After a few miles, the altitude and shade finally started cooling things off. On moderate climbing sections, I was pushing hard! It just started feeling good, finally. On steeper looser sections - it was easier to sit, spin, and focus - and push a biggish gear for being 8+ hours in. What a joy it was to see that brown Forest Service sign signaling the apex of this last long climb.
I absolutely tore-ass descending Winsor. Dodging cow poop and slowing for hikers - I hit the Chamisa climb in fair shape, and ground my way up to the saddle. That intersection sure looked different, and I have never dreaded a fun trail like Serpent like I did now. While there are no sustained climbs, there are some steep, rough punchy spots - and some treacherous descents. I made it through OK - but would note that this trail seems to have been annihilated by the recent rains, as it was now severely rutted compared to two weeks prior. Needs work asap.
The kicker was hitting Little Tesuque and knowing we had to climb up the pavement at Nuns Corner, on Hyde Park Road. Thankfully the clouds were gathering and offering some relief - and doing OK, I stood up and mashed the climb up and over the top. Feeling as good as I could - in that 'near end of the ride groove', I blew right by the Dale Ball turn off! Doh. I was almost to Gonzales Road when I relaized it, and mad as heck - stomped back up the hill to do this last bit. Blazing the bmx track like portion of Dale Ball Central was worth it - and I felt great down at Cerro Gordo.
Sort shell-shocked, I meandered via a very circuitous route through town back to Second Street. Ice cold coke, and a big old cheeseburger were calling! Rolling in just as it started spitting a little rain, I punched the 'stop' button 9 hours and 37 minutes later. Ooof. I had hoped to stay under 9 hours, but was stoked to have survived it anyhow. Even as Chandler 'faded' at the end, he was obviously on fire, as he clocked an official unofficial record of 8 hours and 15 minutes.
Sick.
Fast.
Someone needs to try and beat it. I suspect the first one that will top it, will in fact be Chandler himself - aiming for the sub 8 hour mark. I chowed down, had some cokes and a beer - but after an hour had to hit the road and get home. I was sorry to not have "seen" anyone - but new I must have kept a decent pace then anyhow. Got hailed on so that by the time I was home my bike and my sorry self were all rinsed off and refreshed. Had the chance to run some errands a short bit later and packed up Victor, my little dude, and we went to retrieve the stuff at the drop area. While I was on Pacheco Canyon Road this LAST time, in the car - I saw some fellow endurance nuts heading up the last climb, at around 4PM. Freakin' hard-core bad-ass! Ow. I offered up all the supplies we had left - and the ice cold cokes went FAST. Sounded like there had been some weather - but everyone was in good spirits. The mysterious water spigot back at en Medio / Chupadero Community Center proved easy to find (inside joke for some). It was a lot nicer with some cloud cover out on the climb- and I urged everyone on, including Tim and Mark - two serious bad-asses doing the whole she-bang on single speeds. Nuts.
I think I'll stick with shorter/harder workouts, as this endurance / all day in the saddle stuff is brutal - and takes me weeks to recover from with my low hours no-training training plan. For an apex to a sporadic season, there could not have been a better ride! If I 'do' another one, I'll start with the gang. For some pictures, see Rich's thread over at mtbr.com HERE. I could barely see straight, and thus did not take any shots at all.
glen
My buddy is right - perhaps I will be the 'October Champion'. Or not. Point? LATE start to anything resembling 'training' this year, but now with a 16.5 pound rocket of a road bike, the investment in longer miles and more climbing are paying good dividends. Still not really structuring anything - except to mix road and dirt, hard and easy. This morning, I headed north to a jobsite meeting and an exploratory 50 mile road ride / loop. Starting at the junction of routes 285 and 84, I began by heading north on 285 towards Ojo Caliente - home of some fantastic hot springs and a pretty little village. Just as the road left town, about 18 miles into the ride - I turned right (at the place that advertised "propane and pigs!!") onto state route 111. The ride instantly got yet more beautiful. Perfect swoopy, rolling country highway with hardly a car in sight. I began the first of 4 or 5 climbs and felt good. A little slow - but good. Mile after mile of old-world countryside, punctuated by grassy fields and large thick stands of cottonwood trees, as well as the occasional stunning view to a distant vista. This wacky place never falls short of impressing in new ways.
A few more miles and I hit the main climb, as I turned onto state route 584. Wow! I felt great and really punched it up a 2 mile or so climb. The grade varied a bit, and the road kept twisting until the top - where yet again, the horizon revealed itself from yet another angle. Pedernal to the north west, the Chama River due west, and the Sangres to the east / south-east. I downed a Clif Kids bar and some water, and sailed down towards the funky village of El Rito - a blend of old world rural and funky post-hippie groove. VERY cool place! I'll bring the family back for a look-see soon.
The road straightened out and began descending down towards Abiquiu and I picked up the tempo some. Once back at state highway 84, it was a fast cross-tail wind ride on a smooth shoulder most of the 10 miles back to the car.
I'm curious to do it n the opposite direction next time....
Let's see, other than that - the last two weeks have been a blur.
6/27 Today - Ojo / El Rito Loop
6/26 Yesterday: Ski Hill climb to the State Park, then WICKED hills work with the boys
6/25 Wednesday: off
6/24 Tuesday: Wicked throw-down group road ride
6/23 Monday: Hills work out to en Medio and back
Last Week:
6/22 Sunday: Atalya/Dale Ball Mountain bike Ride
6/21 Saturday: Tempo Road ride out Old Santa Fe Trail
6/20 Friday: Fun boondoggle day climbing up Pacheco Canyon and upper Winsor to meet some friends
6/19 Thursday: Partial Hills work
6/18 Wednesday: Mountainbike FAST ride around main Dale Ball loop
6/17 Tuesday: Tesuque / Super Bunny reversed, then group throw-down
6/16 Monday: Off
Week Before THAT:
6/15 Sunday: DURANGO! Up Florida Road w/ Victor in the trailer (OW! Hills are STEEP!). Very cool Fathers Day hanging out at a creek with Victor, near the reservoir - while he dipped his toes in the icy water - looking for, and tossing - nice round pebbles into the pools of calm water. (must post those pics asap!)
Saturday: DURANGO! Met up w/ Mark for a nice 3+/- hour ride; Jones to Pinkerton Flagstaff to Dutch to Hermosa. FUN and lush. (see photos)
And so on....
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