Ride Reports

Like Alex, I finally did a few rides worth blogging about. So let's get started shall we?

So it's no big secret that I'm shooting for a completion of the Grand Loop route, but again- no go. You can read my report over on bikepacking.net, so I'll pop up a few pics and add some additional notes.

The Bad

Not taking a sleeping bag but more importantly, not taking my rain pants. Seeing those storms and knowing that w/o those pants, my legs would shrivel off w/o the vapor barrier to keep them warm and me moving. Still learning the weather patterns and such for this area. Not my experience for storms to 'hang out and brew' as such seems to happen in the higher altitudes.

Taking too many of those Bloks. The final weight to calorie ratio was not in my favor. After collecting all my food and stuff and finally weighing it (by putting the pack on), ugh. But from experience, it wasn't worth getting all hopped up about to scramble and make last minute changes.

Taking too much simple sugar carbs (read: Bloks. Heh.) that turned my stomach into a little ball that felt like it was swinging around on the end of my intestines like a flail.

The Good

Body (other than stomach) felt great. I wasn't moving fast, but I was able to maintain a steady pace. I cramped a bit from the pushing/walking, but upping the eating/drinking and taking short 'take your pack off for 5 mins and sit every 1 -> 1-1/2 hours' breaks alleviated that.

Seems like all my gear is set, still learning on when to take what and what to take when.


All my junk.
















Checking out the clouds from Little Park Road.
















Prologue miles from the Lunch Loops to Kokopelli's. L -> R: Jefe, Matt and Cat. Jefe's rocking the 29'er SS with platforms!
















Firsts for the year: Blood and a trail night ride. Best to pay attention to the trail and not be looking around at all the cool shadows the moon makes in the desert.
















Another rider! ScottM out on the course between Westwater and Dewey. Actually, Chad was there too, but he took off too quick after chatting to get his pic. Funny when Chad said 'You look like you're traveling light'.
















Like a good cup of coffee- storms brewing over the La Sals.
















Slickrock in the Yellowjacket section.
















Weird tree remnant in one of the Cottonwood Canyons.

















So with rain and cold pretty much the forecast for the period after returning to Scotty's pad in Denver, I hightailed it home to blue skies, nice temps and a ride on the North Country Trail. This was something I'd wanted to do before the GL attempt, but the incessant rain on the weekends killed it.

Even being prepacked, It was still a rush to resort my junk and make a few diet/kit changes. With the plan of getting out early Thursday a.m. blown, I finally started out at Noon from the M-20 trailhead in White Cloud.

Running the same basic kit: Jandd seatpack - windshield pad - sleep kit in dry bag
















Not much to say other than miles and miles of sweet tree covered rippin' singletrack from M-20 -> Nichols Lake North.

Small stream crossing.
















Magical forests...
















Ribbons of singletrack...
















Until...
















Which necessitates...

















So from North Nichols to the Bowman Lake Trailhead, is quite a few miles of dirt and paved roads to skirt a 'hiker only' section. After which you return to more miles of sweet sweet singletrack.


Sun setting on the trail.
















As the sun started going down, I realized I'd not make the next water stop off before the sun was too low to see the trail. Not being reflectively blazed, I rode up to 8th Street in 'Segment C' and turned around to start looking for a 'wet' place to camp. After checking out Timber Creek Campground and the Upper Branch Access point, I decided to ride for a bit more knowing I'd make the Bowman Bridge Campground before dark.


Taking bivy at the Bowman Bridge Campground. That little blue bottle on the right of the picnic table was probably the most important addition to the kit: bug spray.
















Last pic before passing out.
















Friday morning was more road to hook back up to the trail at Nichols Lake and then a ribbon all the way back to the car.
















Quite a few marshy sections.
















Fin.
















So what changes will we see for this next round? Definitely looking at getting some of the weight off my back and on the bike. Dietary too, but I won't give up the beer. And that 29'er thing? Interesting for sure.

So no HIP100 for me this year, but I'm ready to start thinking about (what I figure to be the out and back distance) NCT160: M-20 <-> Marilla or M-20 -> Mackinaw one way (320 miles?).

Anybody ready for some bikepacking? Summer is here!

Camp Scotty - Route Track

From my gps track, it's easy to see where I got off track. That little error was probably my 4pm cut off blowout.

Camp Scotty - Spring '09

Wow, where to begin. Nothing like testing out lots of stuff you didn't know needed testing.

So a few years ago, I'd heard of an event connecting some of the classic trails in Moab in one big loop. As usual, some ferret action on the net and a few emails set the stones for giving the route a tackle. Execution would be an entirely different matter.

I left on Thursday morning last week thinking I would easily be able to hit Denver by early Friday morning and then take in some sleep before driving out to Moab with Scott.

Pretty much coasting along until reaching the border of Nebraska/Colorado, I seemed on track to make Denver by midnight/1am Friday morning. Until the car started making these weird noises like when you run over rumble strips, but there were none in the middle of the lane. I could see what looked like rough patch here and there scattered across the roadway, seemingly intensifying as the miles rolled on until it started snowing. Meh. Ice. When I was only able to do ~45 mph, I hit the sidelines for a motel, hoping the roads would clear by morning and if not, at least it would be light enough to see the road better. At the start, it was marginally better, but the roads improved the closer I got to Denver.

Starting out wasn't so bad.














Until the left lane cleared and the right lane was solid ice.














Dear, I'm going to be a little late for dinner.














I made it to Denver about 10 am and after a quick stop at the auto parts store for some wiper blades and Breakfast King for some grub, it was on to pick up Scott and continue on an uneventful drive to Moab, stopping for dinner and a bike shop run in Fruita.

Up at 4am on Saturday to make the 5am pre-ride meeting, we were eventually rolling out of town ~5:45am. Wow, was it cold. Even with my mittens on my fingers were frozen to the bone and I was slightly shaking as we motored up the pavement.

Taking the Old Highway up to the Bar-M trails we tackled Rockin' A and Circle O trails first. In the dark, with painted stencils marking the route on the slickrock, I was sure to keep up with Fred who has experience navigating the area. Once the sun came up, I stopped for a bit to take off my mittens and get a bite to eat. By now it was easier to make out the painted line to follow and I felt better about doing my pace and not getting lost in the dark.

Sunrise on Circle O.














Next up was the Sovereign singletrack. This was a mixture of rough and sand with a good amount of slickrock thrown in for good measure. Here I also started to yo yo with Matt and Cat who had done the ride before. There are a myriad of turns to be taken in this area, so it was nice to have a more guided tour and the opportunity to chat. But that wouldn't last long. Near the end of this section, I had stopped to check out my squeaking front brake as the others rode away. This would be the last time I would see any other riders out on the course.

Going under highway 191 I stopped to remove the rest of my layers and eat a bit more. This is where things went slightly awry. The next section of the course follows Cottermine Road but at the intersections after the highway, I went the wrong way and ended up going ~5 miles and 1500' of climbing on the wrong trail. Heh. I realized this when I reached the peak of the climb and started to head down around the other side of a butte. Finally, I sat down and pulled out my map for the first time. Yep, off course. I could see by my map and gps track where I'd gone. Turning around and heading back, I finally made it to the right road and up to the next section, Seven Mile Rim Rd. Whew, she was a grinder but had nice views from the rim.

Looking at 191.














Where I'm headed, off in the distance: Monitor and Merrimac Buttes














Riding between the buttes. A small sampling of typical trail conditions.















After riding through the buttes, you end up on steep side-angled slickrock and down into Wipe Out Hill, which is also very steep. While still on the slickrock, I decided to finally sit for a few minutes, take a short break and eat some solid food. After getting rolling again, I made another route finding error, which pitted me out at the same area at the end, but I'm sure the normal route was much faster than what I rode/walked through. There were some tire tracks in this section, so I'm sure a few other riders ahead of me made the same mistake or were lucky enough to be riding the same trail that day. I was all too happy to see the pavement at the end of this section, but it was over in a flash as about 50 yards or so up the road was the next turnoff onto more sandy/rocky jeep road. Amazingly my legs were holding strong so far but this section really wore on me mentally. It was really rather grueling as each time you cornered a ridge or reached a crest, there was only more of the same. Looking back, this was my least favorite section.

After finally reaching Gemini Bridges Rd., I was all too happy to let the legs rest as it was a fast downhill into the next section: Metal Masher Jeep Rd. Wow Metal Masher was rough. I don't know if it was from the previous bumpy miles or what, but my wrists started feeling it here. Somewhere along this section I happened to look at my watch- 3:30pm. Hmm... I decided to skip pulling out the map and continued on, knowing eventually I would hit Gemini Bridges Rd. again and could assess the time situation there. I'm bummed I didn't take any pictures from the rim on this section.

Looking back at Monitor and Merrimac somewhere in the Gemini Bridges / Metal Masher area.














After finally reaching Gemini Bridges Road again, I looked at my watch. It was after 4pm, so I decided to take a short break and mull over what was to come: the already passed 4pm cut off and heading up Gold Bar Rim and onto the final section of the course traversing Poison Spider Mesa. After more solid fueling, I loaded up my pack and put it in the big ring.

The final drop to the Gold Bar Rim turnoff is gnarly. Not to say anything less about any of the other sections I'd previously ridden or walked on the course. At 5pm I sat and thought for a minute. But gentleman's rules dictated I continue down (and more up) Gemini Bridges Road and take the bailout route back to town.

Views from Gemini Bridges Road





























If I remember correctly, I rolled into town and got to the finish about 7pm or so and let Fred know I'd made it off the course but had skipped the Poison Spider section. I chatted for a few minutes but the downhill back to town had already started the downward burning up/shiver spiral and without warm enough clothes on, I wanted a warm shower.

Ride Stats (from gps): 87.5 miles - 11hr 25min moving ridetime - 8145' ascent

Ride Profile (that bump between mile 30 and 35 is the off course error)







Not too bad for my first mountain bike ride of the year.

Thanks Fred for putting on a great event!

Sunday we had planned on checking out some of the White Rim, but it was too windy. Scotty decided to tackle Gold Bar Rim and Poison Spider Mesa. I was reluctant due to not knowing the weather patterns for the area other than hot, sunny and dry. 15-20 mph winds are one thing, gusts of 50 are another. So I rode him partway out and then did a loop through and around checking out town and up Sand Flats Road for a bit. Scotty got back after dark after getting lost in the cold, dust and wind without a light or cold weather clothes. We started riding at 11am. Crazy shit for sure.

High winds on the pedestrian path across the Colorado River. Those ripples are going against the flow.














Going up Sand Flats Road. Dust starting to billow up.















Monday morning we packed up, hit the gas station and rolled out of town. Stopping for breakfast in Fruita, Scott notices he can't pay for his food because he doesn't have his wallet. It's ~2hrs away at the gas station back in Moab. Welcome to Camp Scotty.

After driving back to Moab to get the wallet, we were met with serious windy blizzard trucks need chains type action over Vail and Loveland passes. After getting through the mountains and dropping off Scott in Denver, I hightailed it out of town hoping to make good time in the light traffic. The wind was really strong blowing across the road and by the time I was in Nebraska, the semi's were jackknifing all over the e-way once again. One more motel and I was finally home at 1am today, Wed.

Random Observation: Weird, I really love those Clif Bloks. I reached for those first until they were all gone. They need to make one that is 500 calories for one cube. PIA opening those wrappers all the time.

12 Weeks in Review

So here's a quick rundown on the LWCoaching 'Winter Training Plan for Endurance Distance Mountain Bikers'. I'll attempt to describe my experience w/o giving too many details about the workouts. If you want that, buy the plan. :)

Disclaimer to Effectiveness: I do these intervals using perceived effort. I foresee going to power sometime in '09.

General stuff:

- The plan consists of three periods: Long Anaerobic Endurance, Muscular Endurance, and Short Anaerobic Endurance.

- Each period had core, weight lifting and skill work interleaved with the limiter that is being worked on for such period.

- Three weeks on / one week off is the schedule.

- I didn't do any of the power tests, instead riding outside those days.

- Spinervals were used to time the intervals when on the trainer. It's easy to match the interval length to a portion of one of the workouts on the DVDs. Troy screams and yells, I put my head down and pedal.

- Outside riding was done on a singlespeed. 2-1 gearing on 26".

- Most of this plan is just as much the physical work as it is mentally hanging on at the end each rep. No matter if the interval were 30 seconds or 30 minutes, they each had their own twisted way of making sure both bases were covered.

- Each week has a long endurance ride, which ended up being Sunday for me.

I start my 'year' in December, so that's when I started the plan.

It starts out with long anaerobic endurance intervals- 'max effort' seated for a few minutes at a crack. Lung and leg searing stuff for sure. The first week I found it hard to hold the 'max effort' w/o falling off the edge into power loss. Weeks two and three were more consistent staying right on the edge, keeping a consistent rhythm throughout each interval. Not to say that I didn't want to quit on some of 'em.

Luckily, the rest week was Xmas week, so there was minimal interference between life and getting the workouts in. We made an impromptu decision to hit up Kalahari on Xmas day. They have a swim up bar. :)

















New Years week was the start of the muscular endurance phase. I like to call these the 'bring the legs to a simmer and ride it out' intervals, lasting up to 30 mins per repetition. Not so much about the lung burn but at the end of the three weeks, my legs were cooked.

After a rest week, the last week in January started more anaerobic intervals. Shorter than the first round back in December, these were all standing and under a minute. These continued for the first two weeks into February. With the standing up, it was easy to go too hard at the onset of each rep. It took some doing to control the early pace.

With two rest weeks to cash out February, my miles are tanked, but March is starting with the opportunity to try another plan and redeem myself.

All in all, I think this plan does what it's supposed to- give you a structure for building a solid foundation to build your endurance base on by building anaerobic and muscular fitness. Does it work? I'll find out soon.

So saying goodbye to 'training to train'- spring training is in session. Say hello to another round of crispy.

Flat. Windy.

You know the drill. Add some cold and snow and you've got the fever for the flavor.

Well, another winter of midweek 'racing' indoors and 'recovery' rides outside on the weekends.

The dirt roads are truly in winter shape now. Sugary snow covered with an icy base. Perfect for working on that shoulder/hip disconnect as you slip slide all over the crowned surface.

Interestingly enough, I've never sensed a deviance of 'experience' from the trainer. I'm certain, if there are bike rides in purgatory, they all involve intervals on the trainer.

So another year has passed and things are switching up and refining again on the biking front. Thanks to this post, '08 was the initial switch to the 'more intervals and core' plan. This equated to feeling great at higher intensities but slightly lacking in base due to not enough time/miles during the mid week go til ya blow trainer sessions. Although I would hit good hours with my outside riding, the intervals were not structured at all, just pick a Spinervals vid and go. And once the summer hit, they lost out to nice weather outside.

For '09, things are starting out a little different. By:

- following a structured base interval plan from the Mistress of Pain
- using my rollers for all indoor aerobic riding
- being consistent with stretching, foam rolling and core work

How's this all going to work out? I have no idea.

Thanks to Danielle for spreading the good word about the rollers and providing some laughs. The totally squirrely riding after pumping your body full of lactic acid and being tiredly tense is interesting for sure. Funny, seems if you're bored on the trainer, you're not doing it right.

Luckily today, like yesterday, was a day for riding outside! Nice temps and some light snow in a partially sunny-foggy air to start the day. 5:05 later I had a nice winterbike art form.


















It's amazing, the crazy stuff you do riding your bike just so you can ride your bike.

So what else is on the plate for '09? Unfinished business for sure, plus a small slew of interesting events and some standard local fanfares.

KittyPower

This is what happens when furry creatures stalk your kids all the way home on Halloween night...

Welcome to our new cat: 'Nightmare'

Camp Scotty Continuted...

Well, time to wrap up this Colorado report.

First off I'd like to apologize to Shawn for not getting in touch with him once I found out Scotty didn't get him the ride plans list for the week. Bah. Well, then again it was 'Camp Scotty' so, I should have anticipated a more anomalistic adventure. Kind of like wishing I would have taken my light the day we rode in Eagle.

Day 4 - Tuesday - Minturn

Two Elks and Commando Run, coupled with some paved and dirt road climbs, it makes a good loop right from town. First day of getting up high. Yowza. If the altitude wasn't enough, the steep pitches cresting the top really put the scream on things. WFO bombing singletrack? Mmm... Baby you know it! :)









Ride Profile

Stats: 4 hr 6 min - 30.2 miles - 4480' of ascent


Day 5 - Wednesday - Eagle

After another good night of star gazing on the mountain, we packed up the bikes and headed to Eagle. Unfortunately, today we didn't ride any singletrack, since we got lost trying to find the top of the hill where they started. This day consisted of the most climbing of the trip. Almost 16 miles in, I had clocked almost 5k in ascent as daylight was waning. A hop, skip, and a jump and we were u-turning to a blazing fast two track downhill, making the parking lot in the twilight.

This is also the loop where we saw a bear. Adam and Scott were making fun of me because I wanted to get to hell out of there and they wanted to sit and chill while the bear roamed around the area. Sorry, call me a puss, but I'm not one to mess with potentially dangerous wild animals, especially with a backpack of yummy (to the bear) food. And most likely, the bear wouldn't discriminate enough to avoid stick boy and go after healthier vittles. heh.









Ride Profile

Stats: 4 hrs 23 mins - 26.5 miles - 5209' of ascent

Day 6 - Rest Day

After a final night of camping, we packed up all our crap and bee-lined through Leadville, where we stopped for lunch, to Salida. A nice trip to Absolute bikes netted a map of the Monarch Crest trail and a route to ride to the top if we so desired. We moteled it this night, nice to take a hot shower after living in the woods for a few days.

Day 7 - Monarch Crest

After rescanning the maps the night before, we decided to shuttle up to the top of the hill and skip the 4 hour climb by bike. After almost a week of chasing Adam around, it was Scotty's turn to lead the pack as he hightailed it to get ahead of everyone in the shuttle group so we wouldn't have to slow down on the downhills. And the downhills were aplenty. More WFO nutty downhill rock gardens than you can shake a stick at. And the pitches on some of the climbs above 11k'? Priceless.

Today was my only crash of the trip, falling down a ravine off the side of the road while battling the uncontrollable urge to discharge my post ride margaritas on our drive back to Denver.








Ride Profile

Ride Stats: 3hr 32mins - 34.8 miles - 2573' of ascent

Day 8 - Denver

Just a simple bikepath ride today, Adam got in his 'required' daily intervals, Scott chased him around and I just chilled at a smell the flowers pace.

Epiloge

It was an awesome trip, though way too short. We got in some great rides, missed seeing all the people I had planned to see with our screwing around and basic obliviousness to the real world going on around us.

So to get everyone on the same page on tentative plans for the next 'Camp Scotty': end of March '09 for Riding some Rims in Moab. Stay tuned for details.