The Red Rock Rampage is Saturday in St. George. The weather is looking good. I still have to mail off our registration but it is as good as done. This year my race age it 35. So I can race the women 35+. It is a bit shorter of a race, but I am sure it would still be fun.
We have been getting race ready on the Bonneville Shore Line trail between Slate Canyon and Springville. North of Slate Canyon does not dry out as well and is therefore more affected by the storms. Chris said he rode all the way to the mouth of Rock Canyon last week. I have made it to the Y parking lot a couple of times. Yesterday though we (Dan, Chris, and I) turned around before getting that far North because it was wet and soupy. Whereas South was great.
Chris and I will be working with Peak Fitness & Performance this year. We are pretty excited for this. I had an opportunity to get my VO2 Max tested last year and was impressed with what Aaron could offer.
We are excited for the upcoming race season.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Edge 26" Wheelset For Sale
Road Bike Frameset For Sale
EC90 Superlight Easton Carbon Fork
With headset, seat collar and derailleur hanger
Asking $450 OBO
At 5'2" this bike was maybe a little big for me, but I rode it comfortably for years.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Paramour
We totally cheated on the 29ers this weekend. Chris and I spent some time in St. G. to ride. We spent nine hours over two days riding our Hi-Fi SuperCals—my paramour. It was 60 plus degrees and sunny—absolutely delightful. We rode the race course, Barrel Cacti, Zen, Bear Claw down to Stucki Springs and over to the Cove Wash Trailhead. We then rode Barrel Roll and took the wash back to the car.
We met up with the Hodnetts (Jen and Tim) and the Moffitts (Joe and Kevin) to ride Church Rocks and Prospector from Coral Canyon. The Moffitts then followed us to Santa Clara. We found the Rim Trail Systems—Rim Reaper, Rim Rambler, Rim Rock and Rim Runner. The Moffitts then peeled off and we tried to ride some more.
Being in the general area, we started Barrel Roll. Chris cut his side wall on Prospector and had to throw a tube in it—which we all know never really goes well. So he flatted again and again. Josh and Matt met up with us and we rode Sidewinder with them. But being out of tubes and air--my pump gave up the ghost, we opted to turn back.
I am still a committed fan and supporter of 29ers, but messing around on my “toy” bike is fun and makes me appreciate the big wheels even more. Don’t tell my Suprefly about my fling though. No pictures--less physical evidence. Any suggestions on a really reliable pump. I have been going with something compact, but that is not really necessary as I don't tend to race with it.
Friday, February 12, 2010
Dear City of Springville
I ride my bike on the Bonneville Shoreline Trail, which you can see just to the left in the picture. I think it would be really inconvenient for me if this were to come down in some freak situation. I think the customers might be a little put out also.
Thank you.
Saturday, February 06, 2010
I Love My Brother
My brother, the youngest of my family, is visiting. He got back from serving a year in Afghanistan a couple of weeks ago. Because he was in town, I decided not to join Chris, Keith, Adam, Kevin, and Joe in St. George on Friday and Saturday. I figured that with the Frozen Hog this weekend, it wouldn't be THAT bad staying behind.
I woke up on Saturday morning and picked which bike to ride.The side walks were wet and it was raining a bit. I did not think a single speed would be necessary, nor did I think Hi-Fi would be appropriate, so I took my SuperFly. I got to the Lambert Park close to when I had hoped. I was instructed to park on the side of the road, so I parked and started getting ready. People started showing up. It was good to see the usual suspects.
I opted to ride to registration as it would give me an idea of the snow condition. It was the same slushy-ice that I road/pushed my bike through a couple of days earlier on another trail. I took more air out of my tires. That helped a bit.
As I was messing around I heard the race director say something about needing to "stage bikes". They had opted to change from the usual "shake out" before the lap to a le mans start. I was not really prepared for that. I am sure that was not mentioned on the web site.
Most of the le mans start was plowed but then we had to "run" through some deep snow--up to my knees deep. I was in good condition when I got back to my bike. Tapping the icee out of my cleats I start to get on my bike. I look up the trail and notice that no one is riding everyone is just running their bikes. There is no way I can ride, so I get off and run. I drop a couple places. The trail crosses over the road in just a little ways and I suppose that people will be jumping on their bikes there. Nope everyone continues to run. So I am running and running and pushing my bike. The trail opens up again. This has to be where people start mounting their bikes. Nope...still running and pushing. Have I mentioned before that I HATE to push my bike.
Finally I opted to jump on my bike for a little bit. I am somewhat successful. I notice their is a girl that was ahead of me off to the right. I wonder what she is doing. I continue to ride my bike. The next race marking I look at closely. It says "Sport". I realize that I missed the "Expert" turn off. So I turn around and start running my bike back to the turn off. It is much farther back than I thought.
I am not very close to anyone now, so I try to get on my bike more and more. Very little of the trail can be ridden. I am growing more and more frustrated. This goes on and on. Finally there is an open stretch down hill. Excited to be on my bike, my speed gets a way from me and I go down. Luckily it is fairly soft.
My second lap starts. I am so far off the back it is ridiculous. Realizing that there is no way that I am competing with anyone, I spend my second lap just trying to ride as much as possible. Some poor guy got stuck behind me. As I kept trying to get on my bike, I would apologize to him and ask if he would like to pass. He would delightfully decline. I was still frustrated. Finally, the second lap was over and I had been HUMBLED.
I woke up on Saturday morning and picked which bike to ride.The side walks were wet and it was raining a bit. I did not think a single speed would be necessary, nor did I think Hi-Fi would be appropriate, so I took my SuperFly. I got to the Lambert Park close to when I had hoped. I was instructed to park on the side of the road, so I parked and started getting ready. People started showing up. It was good to see the usual suspects.
I opted to ride to registration as it would give me an idea of the snow condition. It was the same slushy-ice that I road/pushed my bike through a couple of days earlier on another trail. I took more air out of my tires. That helped a bit.
As I was messing around I heard the race director say something about needing to "stage bikes". They had opted to change from the usual "shake out" before the lap to a le mans start. I was not really prepared for that. I am sure that was not mentioned on the web site.
Most of the le mans start was plowed but then we had to "run" through some deep snow--up to my knees deep. I was in good condition when I got back to my bike. Tapping the icee out of my cleats I start to get on my bike. I look up the trail and notice that no one is riding everyone is just running their bikes. There is no way I can ride, so I get off and run. I drop a couple places. The trail crosses over the road in just a little ways and I suppose that people will be jumping on their bikes there. Nope everyone continues to run. So I am running and running and pushing my bike. The trail opens up again. This has to be where people start mounting their bikes. Nope...still running and pushing. Have I mentioned before that I HATE to push my bike.
Finally I opted to jump on my bike for a little bit. I am somewhat successful. I notice their is a girl that was ahead of me off to the right. I wonder what she is doing. I continue to ride my bike. The next race marking I look at closely. It says "Sport". I realize that I missed the "Expert" turn off. So I turn around and start running my bike back to the turn off. It is much farther back than I thought.
I am not very close to anyone now, so I try to get on my bike more and more. Very little of the trail can be ridden. I am growing more and more frustrated. This goes on and on. Finally there is an open stretch down hill. Excited to be on my bike, my speed gets a way from me and I go down. Luckily it is fairly soft.
The snow was soft enough, deep enough, and trodden down enough to make it very difficult to ride.
My second lap starts. I am so far off the back it is ridiculous. Realizing that there is no way that I am competing with anyone, I spend my second lap just trying to ride as much as possible. Some poor guy got stuck behind me. As I kept trying to get on my bike, I would apologize to him and ask if he would like to pass. He would delightfully decline. I was still frustrated. Finally, the second lap was over and I had been HUMBLED.
My booties filled with snow and melting on my feet by the end of the "foot race"
In retrospect several things went awry. First, I was excited to ride/race my bike--not push it. Second, I tweaked my ankle and it was bugging me a little bit. Third, I should be more accepting of my environment and do what needs to be done to compete. In this case, I may have placed better if I was content continuing to push my bike. Lastly, I should either pay more attention and/or know the course to ensure I stay on track.
As I got back to my car and emptied my booties of snow, my brother called to see if I wanted to spend some time with him. We just spend some time hanging out. Ultimately, it was worth it staying behind.
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