Night Riding

Chris and I do not do a lot of night riding and it seems like when we do we usually have more than just the dark to overcome. Last night was no different. We had not been riding our bikes for five minutes when Chris broke the titanium spindle of his pedal. He was ticked. Luckily, the break happened on the dirt road climb above Timp Park. It is amazing that all three time he has broken his pedal it has been on easier sections and not while he has been coming down something steep and rocky.
Fortunately, we had our spare parts which included a set of pedals in the car. After a quick 10 to 15 minute swap we were ready to go again. We just rode the Bonneville Shoreline Trail from Bridal Veil Falls to the top of the Burn Trail and back again. On the Burn Trail I hit a bird. It would probably be more accurate to say that a bird hit me. It was one of those little fluffy looking birds that sits on the edge of the trail until your front wheel gets right next to them. Then they freak out. This one flew up into my face and brushed up next to my right cheek. Craziness!
I could not get any flow descending. I was really off and cautious. It was more than the darkness though. There was something about the narrowness of the trail and the shadows that the brush cast. I could not get confident with speed. More practice is probably in order.

My bike with lights and ready to go.

Chris getting his lights set

Swapping pedals

The broken spindle reflecting light.

100K after InterBike

So I went to InterBike with Keith and Adam. Chris could not make it because he had to work. I tried to go to the booths he would have interest and ask intelligent questions. I failed miserably. I don't really know or understand enough to speak intelligently to manufacturers. So I am sure after most of my conversations the booth workers were probably shaking their head in disbelief. I tried though. Pictures are below.
After spending Friday at InterBike we went to St. George. Brad Keyes held his 100K on the Goose (Gooseberry Mesa). This year we started on Gooseberry instead of ending there. That was nice. Gooseberry is always fun and allowed me to get into a good groove.
Kenny and Dave were kind enough to wait up for me from time to time. Thus allowing me to hang with the lead group. On the road to Gould Trail the dirt was incredibly deep. Kenny was leading off and I thought we were going lose him in the big puff of dust. There were a couple of sections like that. Luckily Chris had brought some chain lube though.
I felt pretty good until a bit after the lunch stop at the three hour mark. Then I started to fade just a bit. It was pretty warm too. The only time it was significant though was on the steep climb back up to the Gooseberry turn off. The course was really good. Nice job, Brad, looking forward to next year.

Adam and Keith trying on hats.

Penny-farthing or high wheeler

Trigon was there with lots of forks.

Mountain rigid.

And a frame--96er SS?

A seat made from old tires and tubes

One of my favorite things from the show. I want one.

Crank Bro's 29er wheel

Surly's Pugsly

The Bamboo bike again

Not So Much Riding

I have not been on my bike so much since 12 Hours of Sundance. Last week I was really tired in general. By the weekend I had figured out why--I was trying not to get sick. This was the same weekend that we had plans to go to Zion with Chris family. We hiked Angel's Landing, Observation Point, and the Narrows. We did sneak in a ride on Gooseberry Mesa. We stayed in a house just down the road and were able to ride there. It was magical even with not feeling well.I tried to rest/sleep in between everything, nodding off on the shuttles, etc. I started to feel better on Monday before freezing during the Narrows Hike. I have continued to be run down ever since.
Now I am in Vegas for InterBike. On Saturday is Brad Keyes 100K on the Goose. I am excited and hoping to start feeling better.

The Narrows--only Chris witnessed this as the rest of us did not make it that far.

The Narrows

Heading out for a hike.

Doing my part, holding up the mountain on the way to Observation Point

Tex enjoyed the Virgin River

A Happy Chris on Angel's Landing

I found a cave on Angel's Landing in which to hide.

A view from Angel's Landing. It was amazing.

Ride Interrupted

This week has not been so good for riding thus far. On Monday after maybe 20 minutes of riding, it started raining. Raining. Not sprinkling, but really raining. Chris said we needed to ride until we would start regretting it. Well, a bit before that I decided to turn around because the trail was getting slick. We rode for maybe 30 minutes.
No riding for me on Tuesday as I could not get out of work until after 5. And then I had Young Woman's at 7 pm. No time. I hate it when late meetings get scheduled on Tuesday and it is becoming increasingly more popular.
Then today. I was so excited. We started climbing up to the alter. Then we continued up to the top and came down Dry Canyon. As we returned on the Bonneville Shoreline we came up on him. There was this dog huddled in the shade of the brush just panting. He looked bad. Chris was in front he stopped just past him. He barely looked at either of us. We both thought he was dying. I went back to see if he was alright as Chris warned I should probably not get too close. He was a big dog and if he was hurt he may easily snap at us. He did not really respond to anything we said.
We don't know the number to animal control nor was I exactly sure where we were. So I called a friend, Maren, who does dog rescues. She would know who to call. She "screened" me. I called Racer figuring he was a good second choice. With his iPhone he helped me figure out where we were and gave me the number for animal control. Thanks Racer. I gave them a call. Interestingly they wanted to know an awful lot about me--name, number, address. Address? Anyway, they said they would send someone.

That is where we found him huddled in a scanty shadow

By this time we realized that he was a nice pup who may have been overheated. Chris and I each took a turn riding back down to the drinking fountain at the trail head to give him water. He seemed rather thirsty and had quickly finished off both our bottles. While I was waiting for Chris to return, a guy pulls up in a truck with a horse trailer. He starts climbing up the trail. Half way up he sees me and asks if a dog is there. I respond with a yes. He seems relieved.

A tired and thirsty puppy

He said his dog, Urkie/Yorkie, just bonked and stopped. He could not get him to move on. So he had to go back for his truck. I told him that we had called animal control and were giving him water. He said thanks and that he could probably carry him to the truck from there. I left them to find Chris up the trail and told him what happened. He wanted to say something to the owner so he continued on as I called back to animal control and let them know the owner returned.

On our way back, we ran into Kanyon Kris and Jolene. We ended up talking to them for a bit. We climbed back up the road and decided to descend Dragon's Back. There were swarms and swarms of bugs. It was out of control. Bugs in the mouth, nose, eyes, ears and down the jersey. It was like a plague. Oh and we saw a snake at the very beginning and end of the ride. Neither was a rattler, but they were both big. For the amount of time we were out, we really did not do so much riding.

Pix from Sundance 12 H

The start

Chris coming in off his first lap.

Almost there.

Post race.

Take 2.

Results are here.

12 Hours of Sundance 2009

Chris and I just got home from the 12 Hours of Sundance. It was a long day on the bike. Yes, we have done 12 hours before as a Duo team, but this race seemed especially tough. There was lots of competition--lots of fast teams.
Starting off, we were a couple of places back. The Gibsons--Chuck and Greg--were on fire. Josh and Kenny were putting down some quick times too. And then there was an unknown team, Diamond something wearing green and blue. After getting time put into us, I figured we were out of the running.
I did not feel bad on the bike--better than the start of last weekend for sure, but fatigue seemed to be setting in earlier than normal. Then Chris caught on fire. Then there were some key mechanicals--Greg had tire issues on a couple of laps and Kenny had a flat and chain issues on consecutive laps. We started making up some time.
I tried to ride steady. Chuck kept catching me. I would hear him behind me and then try to find a place to let him pass. I hate being passed, but letting him by was the right thing to do. Then on the last couple of laps, he started catching me later and later. On my final lap, I was able to hold him off. Granted this was probably more Chris putting time in on Greg than me "holding" Chuck off. On our 17th and final lap, Chris came in about a minute before Greg. (Brad--you were right.) It was a hard fought race for us. Hopefully, I will get some pictures to post.

PCPP Pix

Suffering up close

Suffering at a distance--luckily it did not last

Chris feeling good

Taking a drink

Sugar Daddy--yeah, I took a buck. Thanks Cris.

Single speed season came to a very abrupt close less than two weeks after it began. Monday night there was some discussion at the Holley household about the Park City Point to Point race instead of attending the Sundance Single Speed Challenge. The single speed race is Chris' favorite and he looks forward to it every year. It also happened to be scheduled on his birthday. I, too, had been preparing for it and mentally switching from a cross country single speed race to a 75 miler seemed overwhelming. In spite of rumors of cancellation, it was still posted on the Sundance website. The decision was made to proceed as planned. That was until Thursday morning.
When I checked my email on Thursday, Jen Hanks had sent me a message saying that she noticed the Sundance race had been cancelled and we could still get into the PCPP if we wanted. Out of disbelief, I checked the Sundance site. Not that I didn't believe Jen, it just seemed crazy that it would be cancelled. And, of course, she was correct. So single speeding was out and gears were in.
After a very hectic Friday and rather uncharacteristic late night followed by a very early departure for Park City, we unloaded the car and started getting ready. It was a pretty warm morning which was nice. The race got started without any big hang-ups for us.
The first half of my race was really tough. I was climbing pretty well on the Round Valley portion of the course, but I had no flow on the descents. I would start to pull people in on the way up just to get dropped again going down. It was frustrating.
Then we started the real climbing and I felt pretty good. Rain began to drizzle down. It was still pretty warm, so it was not too bad being a bit wet. On the road sections though my glasses got difficult to see through. I had the normal debate--take the glasses off or leave them on. Keeping them on worked in Leadville, so I kept them on. I was still struggling to see and finally took them off. I could see the trail now, butthe trail markings were harder to spot. In fact, I missed a turn but luckily there was a guy close behind me who called me back.
At about 2:30 into the race my left calf cramped and I could not get it to relax. I thought I was in big trouble. Finally though I was able to get back on my bike. Granted it was probably only 30 seconds but it seemed like an eternity. It was obvious that I was behind on calories. I took my effort down a bit and made a more conscious effort to drink my carborocket. I also was really greatful that I had more bottles of carborocket at the aid station. I was suffering.
After the first aid station, the course just climbed. People continued to pass me; my frustration grew. Finally at the top, I felt some flow. Descending back down to Silver Lake was finally fun for the first time all day. From here, I felt so much better both mentally and physically. The climbs were nice and steady. The descending was flowy, except for the technical stuff which was crazy fun.
As I left Silver Lake I was told that it was 15 miles or at mile 50 to the next aid station. I monitored my mileage and tried to ration my beverage and caloric intake. At mile 43, my bottles were empty. I kep thinking that the down hill had to start pretty soon, but the trail seemed to keep turning up. I was getting frustrated as mile 50 came and went. I was concerned about calories and liquids.
The aid station was after mile 53. I was so excited to get there. I had to fill my bottles with their race beverage and I also had a Coke. Even then Coke did not taste good. The carbonation was good. I knew the caffeine would be good. The taste--not good.
Then it was a nice steady climb back to mid-mountain and pure joy set in. I contined to push, the trail was so much fun, fast. By the time I got to the finish, I was glad to be done but the last 10 miles or so was as delighful as could be expected. It was a good race.