Mt. Ogden 50K or 100?

Chris and I had been planning on the Mt. Ogden 50K all summer. We did this race last year and really enjoyed it. Being the weekend before the P2P, we thought the shorter version would be best. Then some circumstances changed a bit on Friday--as in the night before. As we drove up, we were pretty sure that we were going to do the 100K. Our reasons for doing so varied. Mad Dog had a pretty good showing. Karl, Carson, Adam, Kevin, and Bruce were all there.

The 100K followed the ICUP course and then continued to climb. On the start line, Sarah, Mary and I figured out our excuses for not winning. I had a heavy bike; Sarah had taken some time off the bike and was not sure how she would feel, and Mary was going to go down and get a bit dirty so she looked like she crashed. Sarah led with a steady pace on the first climb. I got around her right before the short single track section. Sarah came around on the next little road climb and I followed her into the single track. She was carrying a nice, steady pace. And I was content staying behind her. Then she started to slow a bit, so I got around her. I was feeling good and tried to ride smart. The course had some steeper sections, but with the rain the night before it was in great condition. The climbs were nice and steady for the most part with some occasional steep pitches. The descents at the top were more technical than the 50K course but still great. My front brake was fading a bit and at first this got to me, but I was able to stay in control and keep some speed.
I was riding around some different guys on the first lap. On the second lap I was pretty much solo. While on the first lap I thought the climb was not so bad, I was pretty sure I was going to feel it on the second lap. I rode more conservatively on the climbs and had to stop and get a bottle filled at an aid station towards the top. The nice guy who filled it struggled to get the lid back on. I then tried to screw it on and it took me a while also. I was certain that Sarah was right behind me and hoped that I had not spent too much time there.
The descent was amazing the second time through. I started looking at my time as I approached the bottom. I really wanted to get in under six hours and knew it was going to be close. So I started to ride more aggressively. I over shot a corner and had to come to a complete stop. I also took a curve a bit hot and went down. I essentially rolled into a rock. While it was frustrating, I found some humor in being rolled up in a ball next to a big rock. It was as soft landing though. Picking up the speed was not helping so I took it down a notch.
As time was ticking away, the final road climb seemed so much longer the second time up. I got to the flags at the six hour mark. "Son of a...!" I was pretty disappointed that I was not making my goal, but I was not that upset with my race. Even though I came up short (or long as the case may be), it was still a great day on the bike. 

Chris had a good race also.

Chris, Jake, Quinn

Sarah, KC, Mary

Branching Out

Chris has not felt so well this week. He has a summer cold and thus he has not felt like riding so much. On Wednesday he opted to ride his bike home from work rather than race. This actually resulted in more riding for him as the race was rained out. Thursday, while still not feeling well, we were out for 3.5 hours and then he coughed the entire way home from Alpine. After riding a bit on Friday he said that he was not sure he wanted to do anything too big on Saturday.
Luckily, Erica had invited me to join her and her brother-in-law, Carl, on a scouting ride on the PCP2P course. I accepted. Now I don't and never have ridden much without Chris. In fact, I am not sure I have ever been invited to join another group on a ride and done so without him. As this was uncharted territory for me, I grew a bit nervous. What if I was late? I had to drive to Silver Lake Lodge and be there by 6 am. What if I was too slow? Having a group wait for me a bit with Chris is not so bad. I know that if I am falling behind, he will come back for me. What if I have a mechanical? Chris takes care of me. Yes, I can change a flat. Yes, I can fix a broken chain, etc. But Chris usually takes care of these things in a timely manner. Oh, the "what if''s..."!
The night before, I start preparing my bike to ensure I would not delay them in the morning. I lubed my chain, checked my shock, got all my riding food prepared. I started planning what recovery food I would pack. I would check my tire pressure in the morning before leaving. I set my alarm for 4 am, went to bed early, and got some sleep.
The preparation paid off for the most part. I left on time. But realized I forgot to put the chocolate milk in the cooler for recovery. I showed up a little before light, so I was grateful to have had my chain lubed and tires pumped. I packed my pockets and we left. I don't think they had to wait for me more than a minute or so. I did forget to grab my pump. Son of a...! I was pretty nervous about the possibility of getting a flat. Luckily, I did not need it, but it would have been convenient as Carl could have used it.
All my nervousness and anxiety was for naught though. It was a great ride. We held a good tempo the entire day. My average HR was 145 which is good for five hours of ride time. (Erica said it was just shy of five hours of pedal time. I did not pedal the whole time though. I like to ease up a bit on the down hills.) We got to the Canyons at around 4.5 hours, but Erica wanted to get five. So she paid Carl off to get her a Coke and said we would go do some more climbing. While I, too, was hoping for five hours, I definitely could have been done. Going out again sounded painful and it was a bit, but worth it.
Carl did the ride on a single speed rigid. Now I can appreciate that, but I don't completely understand it. If is were me, I would at least put a front shock on it. I really think the lack of suspension will be more limiting than the single speed. But I am not one of those single speed, rigid elitist. I just dabble in it. Kudos to him and best of luck.
This will be Erica's first endurance mountain bike event. I think she is going to be good and really enjoy herself. We talked some about what she should expect and some basic tactics. I am not sure I gave her the best advice, but I shared with her my experiences and what has worked for me. In talking to her throughout the ride, I gained even greater respect for her. She is a great individual; I am glad to have met and have the pleasure to be associated with her. I sincerely hope that we stay in touch.
And really the people I meet are some of the biggest reasons I love to mountain bike.

Still a fatty?

Some might have notice that lately my Superfly has been missing a bit of its flair--my Tioga saddle has been MIA.  I thought I was making progress towards slimming down to my "race weight". Apparently, not so much

The SPYDER and SPYDER TWIN-TAIL saddles have been tested to adequately absorb shock for riders up to 190lbs.

I don't quite weigh 190 pounds, but this lasted a mere 3.5 months. I love this saddle so I am working on a warranty.  The shop said that they will be sure to say that a petite female rider cracked this one. Wish me luck!

Canyons ICUP Finale

Saturday I lined up with the Eric/ka's. Erica and I wanted to add a lap after confirming that the course was shortened. Erika, due to her hip issues, preferred to keep it short. So we went with the short two laps. Interestingly, we left behind all of the Sport Men with the Expert Women. While that made for heavy lap traffic the vast majority of the guys were very accommodating. Even when I dropped my chain and had to pass a big chunk of them a second time. Thanks guys.
Erica hurt me on the first lap. We did some leap frogging through the first lap. I ended up passing her on the final descent. I was able to hold her off on the second lap. She apparently had some mechanical (chain issues) and Erika, proving her prowess in spite of her hip issues, passed her. They ended up finishing three seconds apart.

And a public service letter: 

Dear Sir:
I beleive in the heat of the race on Saturday we may have had a misunderstanding. You may recall the situation. I came up on you during the single track climb. I asked to pass but you did not respond. I waited patiently growing nervous that my competition would be catching me. I requested  to pass again. To which you responded with stating you did not race for me and I would need to pass whenever I could get by you.
You are correct that you do not race for me, but I was not asking you for much. I was hoping you could simply yield a bit of the trail increasing both our safety as I tried to make it by you. Maybe you are not aware of the difficulty in trying to maneuver past an individual without being able to see clearly what is coming. Yes, I can and did jump into the side of the trail  to get by you. In doing so though I risked not only my safety, but potentially yours. Without being able to see clearly and having to get all the away around you, I risked not only my safety but potentially yours as I could have easily slipped into you taking us both down accidentally. Thus costing time to multiple individuals.
Please be aware that I don't believe my race is more important than yours. I don't expect anyone to a put a foot down or come to a complete stop. But as I am willing to move over to one side of the trail or find a safe spot for others to pass, I wold expect that of others like yourself.
None the less, I hope you had a good race and finished a top your Sport category.
Regards,
KC

I thought after Solitude, it might be a turning point for my season. I finally felt good at that race and was hoping this was a sign of change. I could not have been more wrong.
While my heart rate monitor reported a high of 179 bpm for Snowbasin, I never saw anything higher than 171. That is hardly racing. Maybe I had not recovered from Wednesday's ride. We hit PC again for our anniversary. We only rode 3.5 hours and I pushed but not crazy hard. I can hope that was the issue though.
I got some new shoes last weekend also. I rode with them on Wednesday and my feet were numb in the beginning but felt better after an hour or so. They were miserable during the race. I messed with the positioning of the cleats hoping that would improve things. I doubt this really impacted my race though.
Then to add insult to injury. As I was on my final descent before the finish, I feel an intense stinging on my right shoulder blade...repeatedly. I try to ignore it. It continues to intensify but I am not any place where I can take a hand off the handle bars. I finally opt to stop for a moment and try to kill whatever is there. I start pedaling again and shortly the stinging resumes. I find a spot to take a hand off and swat at what may be there. I still don't think I got it, but finally get to the finish line. I have quite the collection of bites in that area that itch like crazy. Again, this had little impact on my placing. Erica would still have been over a minute in front of me.
Next time...right?