Another Day in Paradise

Friday late afternoon it started raining. But it did not end up being just a typical UT afternoon thunderstorm. It kept raining. I was bummed that I would not get in my ride, but I was more apprehensive for the following day's 12 hour race at Sundance. If only this had happened 24 hours previously.
It rained most that night. Things were wet in the morning. Chris questioned whether we really wanted to do this. The early weather reports (5 am early) did not look too promising.We left the house before 6 and headed to Sundance. The two miles on Alpine Loop Road had several areas that were littered with rocks and/or mud confirming the area had been hit with its fair share of rain fall.
First word was it would be delayed an hour maybe two. I welcomed this as I HATE riding in the mud. Chris would do the first lap so things would be even better by the time I hit the course. We park the car and sit for awhile keeping warm. As light breaks we get out and mingle for a bit--bike talk stuff. Then head back to the car to get warm again. Official word is 9 am start. The 12 hours has been chiseled down to 10. Still a good day on the bike. We start to get ready. I start to eat a bit as I have more time.
Chris is fiddling with his bike and it is not good. Long story short, he needs to replace his dearailleur cable. So I will be taking the first lap to allow him to get his bike working. This is not our standard protocol. I rush a bit but was able to get ready and get on the start line. I had several people ask me why I was there or where Chris was.
That initial lap was in way better condition than I thought it would be. Yeah there were some puddles and a couple of slick spots but still good. And each lap it got better and better. The course of my third lap reminded me of the first time we did 12 hours of Mesa Verde. It got packed down perfectly. The weather was spectacular. There was an afternoon shower for maybe 30 minutes or so, but nothing too bad. (It was Chris' lap.)
Before Chris went out for our 12th lap, he said to talk to Matt  He wanted to negotiated a truce. While both Josh and Chris would make it back in time for us to go out again, we decided to call it. I should probably explain that there is a friendly rivalry between them and us. They were ahead of us with no chance of us catching them. Jon (Russel) and Tyson (Apostol*) had called it earlier. And there was a four man team in front of Matt and Josh they would not catch. After some thought, I agreed to not go out again. Truce.
Chris got back from his last lap with about ten minutes to spare. He said he was going to wait until the course was just about to close and do one more lap. I said I called a truce. His response was I did, he did not. He had a huge grin. So just before 6:29:59, he heads up the road and yells down that the Holley's are going out for number 13. The course was announced closed. I was not there, but I heard Matt was none to pleased. As he was not looking Chris turned off the course not completing lap 13. It was a joke/false alarm. Chris (and many others in the area) thought his little joke was priceless.
For a day that I thought was going to be horrendous--I packed four different kits, warm gear, and a number of wash cloths and towels--turned out to be awesome.
*Yes, the same Tyson Apostol that was on Survivor Tocantins

First Cyclocross Race...Again

I still suck at cyclocross (CX). That has not changed, but I did not really expect to improve while not participating.
I did some CX a couple years back. I stopped for a few reasons:
1. I am not good at it.
2. I a bit shy and don't enjoy showing up by myself when I am already feeling self-conscious. And Chris has shown no interest.
3. I got jealous. Chris would go out on a long delightful MTB ride while I did an intense hour jaunt for the weekend. This played the biggest factor.
Then Euclid and SBR started a mid-week series. I did not have to sacrifice a whole Saturday of riding but just a post work ride. That seemed more reasonable.
So on Tuesday I lined up for a CX race. Let's just say it was not pretty. I got scared in the dust. I could not see anything. Keith warned me. My hands developed blisters on the hoods. (I will have to use different gloves with more padding.) My undercarriage got a bit upset and let's just leave it at that. The barriers are TALL and I tripped on one of my run-ups.
 But I am going back. I am going to make some adjustments to the bike and hopefully improve. It really could not get much worse.

Some riding and some not

Chris said that from Saturday to Saturday, he put in 25 hours on the bike. I was not so lucky (and a bit jealous). The loop we "discovered" on Monday is now a standard of ours. Here it is (hopefully I have all the names of the trails correct).
We start at Sundance and take to road past the pay booth. We climb what we refer to as Jurassic Park (the trail from the parking lot for Stewart Falls to the top of the road). Head up further on Horse Flats and then descend crossing the road. At the T head towards Timpanooke for an out and back. Then head to Mud Springs taking the Tibble Fork trail down to the dam. Jump on the road and head up (and up and up) Mill Canyon to the Ridge trail. Take the Ridge to Joy. Cross the road and head back up to the top of the Loop. And head back down to Sundance.
We did it in its entirety yesterday.
On Wednesday we did a shorter version of it after work. It was awesome. We barely squeezed it in before dark. Nothing like 3.5 hour mtb ride after work.(Chris rode it on Friday also).
Friday was not a good riding day for me. I brought my single speed to work thinking I should ride it before racing on Saturday. But then realized that the race was cancelled. I should have just gone for a single speed ride, but preferred to do something long (and easier) vs short (and intense). So I rolled out on the road bike for a trip around West Mountain. About 15 minutes in, I came up on some train tracks and once on top of them realized they were in terrible condition. Not much place to go due to on coming traffic. I hit them harder than I would have liked. I was surprised that I did not go flat right away. I did pinch flat he front it just took a while for the tube to figure it out. I started to air up my spare and in spite of the fact it was brand new tube, it had a hole in it. Son of a...! I pull out by phone and try to figure out who to call since Chris was enjoying a delightful mtb ride up the canyon. Doesn't matter I have no cell service. I just sit there for a moment or two trying to wrap my head around the fact I am walking back to town. Luckily a woman whose neighbor's lawn I am sitting in, asks if I need a ride. Thank you!
By the time I get home my rear tire is flat too.I probably should have jumped on another bike and gone for a ride, but I accepted defeat.
Anyone know why the sundance single speed race was cancelled? Sad.

PCP2P After Thoughts

1. Mad props to my friend, ET, coming in second. What a phenomenal performance!
2. Speaking of friends. Not only did we have teammates, like Kendra and family, Dave Dean, and Dwight, waiting on us, but coming into PCMR Rick and Dan Z. were there doing anything they could to help me out. I needed a couple gels, Dan ran over and got me one of every flavor to ensure I got what I wanted. Seriously, thanks to all.
3. I got to ride with Jay (Sherman) for a bit. That was until I popped out of my pedal (again) but this time did it with such force I fell over into the embankment. It was pretty funny.
4. And I had to chase down Janelle Kramer (Revolution). She had a strong ride.
5. I allowed my flask to leak all of me because I did not close it. Son of a.... And I ended up needing it later too. Hence, Dan Z bringing me an assortment of gels.
6. I started off too conservative and/or stayed too conservative. Note to self: It is a bloody race. Stop being scared and race your bike. 

P2P Weekend

Park City Point 2 Point was this weekend and it did not disappoint. My game plan was to start slow and then ramp it up. I started back with the time groups so I would not have the pressure of trying to keep up and starting out too fast. I may not have ramped it up enough or soon enough. I felt pretty good getting to Deer Valley.
I kept popping out of my pedals on the climbs and then on some of the descents. That sucked but it was absolutely my own fault. I wore a different pair of shoes given last weekend. I added shims but then used the old cleats. Bloody stupid, I know. I had my other shoes and our support was able to have them for me at PCMR thankfully. Mid Mountain would have been terrible in the other shoes.
I was able to ride most of the race with Adam. It was nice having company. When he first caught up to me, it was all chatty. Then the conversation faded a bit.
At PCMR  I thought I might make it under 9 hours. I was encouraged at Mid Mountain and still thought I was on pace. Unfortunately the end was longer, looser, and more technical than I remembered. I missed the mark by two minutes. Son of a...! Next time, right?

Happy to be done and dirty.

Erica, Brad (so good to see him again), me all lovin CarboRocket

 Today is Chris' birthday so it was all about him. We slept in later than normal and had a lazy morning. Washed the mountain bikes and got ready for a ride. Chris decided on the Ridge. Mid ride he decided he wanted to go down to Tibble Fork and climb back up to the Ridge. We got a little "lost" or "turned around" or something. Needless to say, we did not know exactly where we were or how to get back. Instead of a three hour (maybe) long ride, it was 4.5. It was a good loop. And we will likely do it again minus a couple of water crossing and make sure we bring along some lube. (We had to bum some off a couple of riders. It ended up be a wax base which is fine but definitely not a first choice.Beggars can't be choosers.) Saw ET and Johnny on their way back to Vegas. Funny.

Coming down the canyon being "stalked" by the Tingey's

We went to Carrabba's (thanks Dad) for lunch where Chris got the bread basket to himself. I may have been a bit bitter. When we got home, we had to wash the bikes again. Now we are just being lazy; Chris is asleep. Hopefully Chris had a happy birthday.