Another day of riding

Having spent some time in Jackson Hole and doing some pretty longish rides, one might think we would be back to the grind of work today. Nope. Chris had suggested we take today off also so we could ride some of the trails up Provo (or American Fork if you would like) canyon. We parked the car at Sundance and happened upon Aaron and Duff who were headed in the same direction. We climbed the road with them, we peeled off at the parking lot for Timp Trail, while Aaron and Duff continued up the road. (Note: Aaron's shoulder which he separated--and apparently also cracked his clavicle--at Draper was still bugging him, so riding the road was much more comfortable.) Chris and I hit the single track and headed up Jurassic Park. It was a loose rocky climb on the lower part. The other portions were in better condition, but still surprisingly dry and loose. Chris said he would meet me at the upper parking lot and took off. I climbed steady. I expected him to come back for me, but he didn't. When I got to the top he was covered with dirt. He broke the Holley's cardinal rule of MTB--No Crashing. He hit his pedal on a rock and went flying. He was riding his toy bike and last time I was on my toy bike I did the exact same thing. We rode what we consider "the Ridge", but I know we ended up at Mud Springs and climbed Cascade. Back at the top, we hit Horse Flats, rehydrated at Timpanooke, and returned to Mud Springs, climbed up Cascade again and back down Jurassic Park. Again the lower part was not so much fun even coming back down. Chris was messing around on the bridge at the bottom and while doing a stoppie, he endoed. He hit his left quad and has been limping around since. Hopefully, it will heal quickly and/or ibuprofen will take the edge off. None the less, we planned on taking it easy the rest of the week.

 A dirty Chris post crash checking his cleat

 Chris rinsing off in the river much later in the ride

It was a fun high volume block. Including Saturday's race, we have ridden around 13 hours. Now it is time to recover and get fast, right?

A butterfly on my shoe while riding (stopped) in Jackson Hole

Chris enjoying his delicious Tram Bar which he purchased with his winning (gift certificate) from the race

Jackson Hole

We just got back from Jackson Hole last night and I am a bit tired. None the less, we raced on Saturday. I felt good throughout my race and ended up finishing pretty well. The course, as always, was great. This course is more technical than most, but it is blast. Apparently, though this was the last time we (ICUP) will be riding it. Teton Village has decided to cater primarily to downhill MTB. They are taking out the single track that is there and it will all flow from the top. It is too bad, but it makes sense. I had heard that no one MTB there in years past. Then the area got some grant money to develop trails, so the XC riding in the area is amazing.

 Chris off the line

 On the course

 Chris finishing

 KC finishing

We took a couple of days off and extended our weekend. We spent some quality time on the trails outside Wilson. We climbed up the old highway, continued up the Ridge crossing a few snow fields, and headed down Black Canyon. That is always a blast. We then headed back up and crossed over to Phillip's Canyon. We got to the bottom and from previous experience we knew exactly how to get back. Chris though believes we can get back on a little dirt road and single track. It will only be 30 minutes more, Chris says. That does not sound too long and I am a sucker for single track so we start climbing again. It took us 90 minutes to get back to the car. It was not bad with the exception of running low on water and having to ration, but that was not a new experience for those parts.
We also rode the Cache Creek area again. I was surprised at how much Chris remembered from last year. We took Putt-Putt to Hagen, but then wanted to go up Hagen and not down, so we took the Gauging Station Trail back up and caught Hagen further out. We climbed Hagen to Game Creek (I think) and came down Ferris and Hagen. We took Cache Creek Sidewalk back to Putt-Putt and were back in no time.

Sherwood Hills ICUP 2010

Today's race was a bit better, okay lots better. I had bottle of CarboRocket on the way to the event site. I sucked down some more on my warm-up and then consciously drank during the race. While my legs hurt, I did not feel as though they were going to cramp at all. And it was a warm day too. It was probably 85 degrees finally. Interestingly, I did some research and while there is some research that shows weather (temperature), hydration, electrolyte replacement, and fatigue all MAY contribute to cramps, there is no truly understood cause. So I really don't know what helped me not cramp.
Sarah just toyed with me during the entire race. I knew what she was doing, but could not do anything about it. I could sense her behind me and would catch glimpses of her periodically. I tried to put time into her, but to no avail. Then almost exactly when I thought she would, she accelerated by me on a steady climb. I attempted to keep things in check, but she rode away on the final lap. And to add insult to it all, she was riding my bike. Nice. I guess I should have expected it. I can only hope I made it tough because I was hurting.

So Stu was giving both Sarah and me hand-ups on each lap. I had been leading as I said, but then on the final lap Sarah was in front. Stu, not expecting this, gave me Sarah's bottle (and apparently she got mine). I got nervous about taking her bottle and loudly told Stu it was not mine. Then I realized that she was in front of me and it was our final lap, so it was okay--I was not stealing her water. Next the guilt set in about "yelling" at Stu when he was graciously handing off water bottles. I apologized as soon as I finished. He laughed it off and explained the mix up.

I've had better

The Deer Valley ICUP race that was originally scheduled for Saturday but due to crazy amounts of rain was held last night. And I have to say it did not go especially well for me. The one good part was my lungs felt good. I have been hacking up all sort of gunk for over a week. I had difficulty riding a couple of days ago, granted that could have been the single speed factor as that was the bike of choice for the day. None the less, I was a bit apprehensive. But my lungs did not fail me…breathing was good.

My group was small with only four entrants, which was not surprising as the weather was again looking threatening and it was a week day night. We took off with the Expert Men 40+ again. Usually I like leaving with these guys. They are down to earth about passing and racing in general. Last night it worked against me though. I got caught behind a guy who apparently did not want me to pass him even upon request. He slowed me on ascents and descents. Finally we hit the double track section I attempt to pass on the right. The right is not a good place to be riding. It looks as though it could potentially endo on the lip going really fast. I get my weight back and end up going down on my left side as the girls I am trying to catch are pedaling away and more guys are getting between us. I am just ticked.

I get back on my bike and ride hard. Chris is waiting for me at an uphill switchback. He gives me a look that says “what are you doing back here?” I tell him I just went down. He was not feeling it and decided to ride with me. I make my way back to the guy again, have to stay behind him for a bit and then he finally moves over a bit so I can get by. Hallelujah!

I also caught up to the #2 girl and she let me get by her on the descent.Things are looking up as I start my second lap. Chris has been behind me (he sat up waited for me as he was not feeling it). He kept telling me to go and ride smooth (referring to my pedal stroke which I cannot seem to do). I am trying to push and make up sometime on the first place girl, but my calf cramps up. The muscle won't relax. It seems like an entire minute passes before I can get back on my bike. It is sore and I cannot climb like I would like. After some place swapping again, I am able to finish second.

Let’s just say I have had better races.

Note to self: You MUST drink a bottle of CarboRocket before each race even if it is not on Saturday.

Variety is good

I mixed it up this week. I rode my full suspension 26" wheeled (toy) bike on Monday. It is a nice change from what I normally ride. I enjoy it, but really like switching back to a real (29er) bike. I have it set up 1x9 so it is not a good bike for recovering so much. It is a great bike though for when I want to ride hard. I am forced to do so on some of the steep climbs.
I am trying to instill some "emission free Tuesdays" into my summers. On these days, I try not to drive at all. I enjoy commuting into work, but it does not make sense to sacrifice training in order to do so. And usually I commute with Chris anyway. Tuesdays work out good because I work with the Young Women in our ward (church) on Tuesday nights. I don't really have that much time to train, so commuting is a good fit. This is what I did this past Tuesday. I rode in on my cross bike (with low profile MTB tires). Chris can't figure out why I don't just put road wheels on it. I think it looks cool this way. Although when that big fella passed me on the way in, I thought about switching over to some skinny slicks. What is wrong with me?
Wednesday was a "one speed Wednesday" for me at the Weekly Race Series. I was apprehensive about this as I have not been on my single speed (Rig) for quite some time. We got to Sundance early and rode a lap and a half before hand; I tried not to get my heart rate too elevated which was difficult. I felt pretty good on the two lap race--better than I thought I might. I am excited for more one speed Wednesdays.
Thursday was all about recovery. I rode my Superfly nice and easy. I am not sure I ever got out of my small chain ring. We only did Dry Loop from Timp Park. I cannot figure out why my rear wheel creaks so badly. Chris has lubed the American Classic hub, but said he did not really think it needed it. Then I ended up denting the rim pretty well and knocking it out of true. Son of a...!
And then it rained on Friday and all day today. Today's ICUP race got rained/postponed until Wednesday. So I guess no one speed Wednesday this week.
The only bike I did not ride this week was my Rogue (650 single speed road bike). I hardly ever ride it, but I doubt I will ever get rid of it.

More, Better Pix of Dry Canyon Slide

Below the stairs

To avoid the stairs

"They" have done some work

Unexpected

So I am out riding today. I am trying to get through an interval work out that is killing me. I finally make it to the top of Area 51 and then start to descend into Dry Canyon. The trail is good and I can feel my bike just flowing underneath me. I am listening to Bob Dylan on my music player. It is all good. I am about to pop out of the brush section by going through the river bed, but something looks different. I slow down and realize that someone (ok something) has dumped a load of rocks and mud into the normally clear river bed.

See Exhibit A

And Exhibit B

Now Utah County did not get anything by way of storms this weekend. But Salt Lake County supposedly had a big thunderstorm last night. Apparently that caused a portion of the earth to shift down the Dry Canyon river bed. My phone's battery why dying so I could not take pictures of the crossing of the river bed below the stair to get back on Bonneville Shoreline, but it was even worse. And Kevin, who I ran into at the top of the descent, said that the river bed crossing to avoid the stairs was the worst. Who needs to do some trail work still this summer?

Random Sampler

So what should have been a high volume week because there was no race this weekend wasn't. It was our stake's Girl Camp and as a YW Counselor, I felt I should spend at least some time at Girls Camp. I went up for Tuesday and Wednesday. I toyed with the idea of coming down for the Mid-Week race, but as I ended up bringing a girl home with me I opted to allow her to stay as long as possible. I sacrificed a biathlon, I am just saying.
On Thursday I hosted Ride Like a Girl so that was not a big ride. On Friday, Chris wanted to see how long it would take me to ride the Dry Canyon Loop. He said that I should not push any harder than I wanted to, but if the time is going... So I started off just at a pretty good pace but ended up time trialing it. It took me 44:40 according to Chris. He was surprised it was that long. What can I say, I am not so fast.
We rode a little of everything this weekend. It really struck me how green everything is. I figured I should get some pictures of it before it starts dying as we approach the dry season. The weeds are back and rides are itchy again. But there are some amazing wild flowers in bloom.

The meadow from Dragon's Back

From Frank's

From Frank's again

From Betty's (I think)

So here is the prevailing thought I had this weekend. In a perfect world, the water fountains would be on the top of the mountain instead of at the trail head. I think the altar (rock pile) would be an ideal spot for a water fountain. It is essentially the cross roads of most trails in the area.  Then you would not need to carry so much water climbing, but could have water at or near you final ascent.
Also, they (I am not sure who they are here) graded the part of the road after the trail run a couple of weekends ago. Granted there are still a couple of sections that are still pretty chewed up, but I figured if I was going to complain about it I should probably mention any acts to correct it.

Pictures from Memorial Day

So like I said, my brothers Tom and Jac came to my race on Monday. Jac took a bunch of pictures. Here are some. (Thanks Jac!)

 

Sarah right on my wheel

coming up the trail after the water crossing

water crossing which I hated

A little bit of lap traffic

Chris 

Chris after the water crossing

 

Chris on the trail

Karl braving a race after a should injury and crushing it--in a good way

Sarah coming up the trail. I am probably someplace behind her.