Wake me when September comes

Big things coming down the pike, but here in town right now it's more of the same.  The rains make heading up to high country a gamble, but keep things cool here in town.  So I've been riding down low, in town and all around, including my regular run up on the Raider's Ridge.  I rode through Test Tracks a few times and got up to where the cut-over to Twin Buttes will be cut someday.  Wow, that is going to be epic!  Test Tracks is a blast, but not long enough and the same goes for Twin Buttes.  Double the fun with just one connector trail - but that last part is going to be steep!

USA Pro Cycling Challenge visits Durango

The roadies came to Durango and by the end of the week they will be in Denver.  I witnessed the action for the 3 loops in town and then road out to Hesperus and caught their act again.  Looks like Ivan Basso here and Taylor Phinney with his bandage after he crashed in town.  

 It was kind of funny here in that they had the whole road to themselves, but hugged the white line and eventually drifted well into the shoulder here by the time they passed.

 The Radio-Shack team.

 It's a bit surprising to see all the cars and motor bikes.  I've got a video I took of the loops through town and it's got hilarious commentary from local guy Mint Henk.  It seemed as if we were watching a motor race, not a bike race.  "Look at all the cars!"  would be the title of the video, if I can figure out how to post it.  

 Up at Ft. Lewis I saw about 60 Budget rental trucks and tons of the team vans, buses, trucks, trailers.  In terms of carbon footprint, I would not be surprised if one day of pro roadie bike racing has a bigger impact than one day of NASCAR racing.  It's really a dirty thing from that perspective for a sport that likes to advertise its low impact.  I do understand why they have the tours, but they could have just set up shop here in Durango for the entire week and raced different routes from town, even put them on mountain bikes a couple days along with cross and criteriums.  Now that idea right there would be an awesome pro cycling week in my opinion.  

I saw Barry Bonds in one of the cars going by, or so I thought but I quickly dismissed it because it seemed so odd and well rather ironic.  Turns out it was indeed the Barry

Bonds as the local news paper reported he was here for the event and apparently is a huge cycling fan.  The amateur comedian in me just can't stop coming with one liners about that.  

Back in town at Buckley Park we had a jumbo-tron TV showing coverage all the way to the Telluride finish.  In town was a regular party and the beer gardens which ran the night prior were open by 11-AM, and were quite full.  Loads of food, people finding reason to not work, and bikes everywhere.  In short a typical Durango Monday in the summer.  The jumbo-tron crowd would ebb and flow due to some intermittent rain we were having, but across the street in the beer garden, they could drink all day and watch the event even in the rain given the overhead canopy.  We should keep both downtown even after the event.

All in all a day a good Durango day.

My name is Mud

The race at Twin Buttes was fun on a great course that exactly a year ago did not exists here in Durango.  I rode over to the start using my Hammer Nutrition sag bag holding 6 water bottles and a Hammer Nutrition naglene bottle of their fizzy electrolyte stuff.  Jeni and Jia Li would show up latter to hand those bottle to me between laps.  The race had so many categories from running to mountain biking that I can only give my version of the 6-lap solo portion.  We do have an article in the local paper here.  Short and sweet of it that I took 1st place SS and 2nd place over all for the solo 6-lap, as only one guy got in the full 6-laps.  It was a good day and a bad day, a fun day and a not so fun day.  It just depended when you asked me.  I was the only other solo who went out for the 6th lap, but the karma police apparently took notice and served me up with a horrible rain storm that as a result ended up giving me a thoroughly trashed bike - Daryl Crites himself had to go out and find my rain soaked carcass and then load my 60-lbs muddy bike on the back of the jeep and drive me to the finish.  Daryl even tried to drive on the muddy road that killed my bike and ended up having to back down it as it was too greasy and slick even for his 4WD jeep.  Needless to say it was a downer to end the race that way.

 I rode the first three laps at a decent enough pace, but paid the price on the 4th and really had to take it slow to prevent cramping.  By the 5th I was starting to feel better and without the rain I felt great for the 6th.  I set up the bike with the regular gearing 34x21 which was a bit spinny in parts but decent enough on the short little steep sections.  32x19 is probably a better choice, or if I was younger that would be my choice.  However it's hard for me to turn that gear with much success any more without it bringing on muscle cramping.

For the final 6th lap, I was alone in a no-mans land.  Too early to call the race apparently with just enough time for me to get out deep on the course for that final lap before all hell broke loose.  I pulled into that 6th lap in a heavy rain and the trails were already a mess and even slid out in the greasy mud about 200-yards from the race officials tent finishing that 5th lap.  My number one support crew - Jeni & Jia Lia asked the race officials if they were going to call the race but they were confused, so after waiting a while I went out for that last lap.  The rain got worse, but riding on singletrack was actually ok as it is now a hard packed surface.   But as soon as I hit this rarely used road downhill it was game over for me - the road was definitely not hard pack and it was like riding down a slide made of peanut butter.  My speed got slow and slow and slower and then I came to a near stop as the rear wheel had so much mud on it it could not turn through the seat stays.  Daryl was at the bottom trying to find out who was one course.  If he had not been there it would have taken me over an hour just to get down to Hwy 160.  I had even contemplated throwing the bike behind a tree and coming back for it the next day.  Ugh.  It now needs a full rebuilt before the Vapor Trail 125 in a few weeks.

For my efforts I won an Osprey Zealot 16 bike/hydration pack, which retails for $149 at REI.  So in addition to a fun ride for 5 laps, I got a good return on my $50 entry.  A pint glass too at the check in, and some beer and Home Slice pizza at the finish rounded out the return.   The pack I got is in all black, not blue like shown on the website - it looks awesome!  However, I rarely use packs when biking, and my Ergon BC-2 works well enough for me when I do use a pack, so if you are looking to buy a nice Osprey Zealot 16 hydration pack, drop a comment here and make an offer.

I need to pay for this bike rebuild somehow.  

  Saw good friends at the finish and swapped stories.  All in all a good way to spend a day right here in good ol' Durango.

Twin Buttes Race Course

I ran the mountain bike course on Thursday, which on the Trails 2000 website is marked the trail run, but the map is marked bike course.  A little confusing, but the courses themselves are now marked with yellow and pink painted arrows.  I believe yellow is the bike course and pink is the run.  The bike (yellow) course route came out to 10.3 miles, 1400 ft of climbing so with the planned 6 laps it is going to be a really good challenge - a 100k course with 8500-ft of climbing.  Trying to run that course though was a knee breaker on the backside.  There is a section like the Rib Cage at Phils, except at an incline and when running it my speed would go to near flying on the downhills but the transition to running up hills was horrible - either try bounding or immediate short quick steps.  Much better course to bike!

The climbs are great, and there are some road sections for passing to keep the route from getting too clogged.  However, for some there will be a good chance for injury though as the downhill off the backside, while now hard pack earth, does have some very soft shoulders that can grab a bike tire and pull you right down.

I was initially interested in the 30k trail run, and on Saturday I went out and first road the yellow route on my bike and then road the pink course.  Our resident trail guru has been cutting some new trails left and right with the bobcat - so much so that if you do the yellow and pink courses back to back, you have one hell of an epic ride.  But the downside is that those trails are loose and rough and full of ankle turning obstacles. I'll stick to the mountain bike course, but glad to see there is a future in town for a 30k trail race hopefully.

So I entered the 6-lap (100k) mountain bike race.  Should be loads of fun, right here in town on a course I will probably bike to and from.  No car = ultra cool.  60+ miles out there is going to be tough!

New Trail (again)

 We got another new trail in town - this one is a new fun loop up near the top at Twin Buttes, which is a network all itself that did not exist here in town last year.  The local trail club (Trails 2000) hasn't even had to use local volunteer labor this summer as apparently there are tons of kids, mostly from Texas who love to come out here with their church groups or scout clubs and earn their merit badges.  

 This new trail is the best in the network because it's up high and meanders on an inclined meadow with excellent views in all directions.

 This is the view of the backside of the Hog's Back at Test Tracks, with the singletrack clearly visible on the lower ridge in the left hand side of the photo.  Wow, we are almost there in connecting the two networks, and that right there will be the best in town riding for sure.  I like Test Tracks but it's something I can do in less than an hour and the same goes for Twin Buttes - when the two meet up it gives the opportunity to do longer rides without hitting up pavement in the middle.

These are the actual Twin Buttes and single track goes thought the middle of them.  I was actually hoping to hit up Dry Fork and the CT but the skies were dark enough to make me drop that idea.  

There will be a mountain bike race and trail run there next weekend as well.  Check it out if you are in town.

Break on Through to the Other Side

For a variety of reasons, I just have not been able to find the time or desire to do the road ride to Silverton and back.  Saturday I finally did it.  It's an awesome, high country 100-miler from my house and it takes you over both Coal Bank and Molas passes.  This Saturday was the first time that I have completed the ride since 2010, and I did it in place of the Mega Friggin Sneffels Loop as the body is still recovering from getting ill earlier.  In fact, I did this as my first bicycle ride in 9 days, not counting the short bike commute ride on the Bianchi the day prior. I rode the Moots Vamoots with the 48x19 devil's gearing and had no issue other than my legs are really sore right now.

The gearing works great on the big mountain climbs, but is predictably slow on the flat portion through Hermosa.  I can do between 21-24-mph though there maximum before I get tired of spinning like a monkey.  On the way out it is good as I use it to just warm up the legs before climbing, while on the return trip it acts a governor for a tired body.

Giro Gauge H.V. Mountain Bike Shoes

After wearing Sidi's for the last 6 years, I made a switch to the new Giro Gauge H.V. mountain bike shoe mostly because the Big Wheel Racing team shop, BikeWorks in Albuquerque carries this brand and we were offered excellent deals on Giro and Bell products.  I've known the owners of BikeWorks for over a decade now and remember when they were just young kids turning wrenches at Fat Tire Cycles.  Dan Lucero and Dan Swinton both have made careers in the bike industry and are exceptional and accomplished cyclists.  So when I got word that that Dan L. has been recommending the Giro Guage shoes for single speeders, I figured he knew what he was talking about.  

I'm not entirely sold on the newer style Boa retention systems that Specialized and Lake are using, due in part because my Lake winter shoes actually did break the Boa strap.  As an endurance cyclist, that system has a single-point of failure so it is hard to trust.  I like the two-velcro straps and one buckle system that this shoe and the Sidi offer.  This buckle offers a slight better design than Sidi does however as the release mechanism does not pick up little flowers and get clogged like the Sidi buckle does.  Too many times I've had to use a small precision screwdriver to fish out organic matter at the end of a ride - just to get my old Sidi shoe off.  So Giro definitely wins here.

Another cool thing with this shoe is that there came with it, 3 separate arch supports of varying sizes.    I have very high arches in my feet, so I put in the largest one and it fits perfectly.  The shoe comes with a very soft and relatively thick foot bed, and for those who have worn Sidi's in the past, the usual first purchase is the Specialized B.G. foot bed to put inside.  So Giro wins here as well.

The shoes are stiff and Dan's suggestion was spot on, they work for single speeding.  The soles are Easton Carbon - EC-70, good quality name brand stuff.  I have not yet done much hike a bike with these shoes, but the rubber on the bottom seems soft enough to get some grip.  I've used shoes like Specialized in the past with hard plastic bottoms that were slippery on rocky granite, which is a safety hazard in the high country.  The shoe construction looks solid and I hope they can match the durability of Sidi, of which I averaged 3 seasons per pair.

This shoe looks like a winner for my riding up here in Durango and thanks to the guys at BikeWorks I was able to get a set!

Flopping Big Feet Across the Land

The first day back on recovery I decided to hike up Skyline, a route I regularly run and bike. The first thing I noticed was how impatient I ended up becoming as walking is quite a bit slower.  I hit up a run around the college the next day, and ran up Skyline on the third at a pace faster than my regular  time to the top.  That was a bit surprising, but not too much as indeed the body has been rested.  The legs did atrophy a bit though and DOMS did set in, which this time of year almost never happens when I'm exercising regularly.

Friday also had me doing a bit of work in town, so I loaded up the Bianchi with the engineer's wheel and set out to do some measurements, which for me are relatively simple and can be rounded in feet, not inches.  This led me to another idea for an invention, as it was kind of silly to bring the measuring wheel when in fact my bicycle wheel could have sufficed if I develop some sort of counting mechanism.  It would be a bit too much work to count revolutions manually, but it sure could be done of course.  I wonder if there is something I could mount to the front wheel of the bike, like a tachometer that would count revolutions, and then all I would have to do is multiple by tire circumference.  So there you have it, a bicycle mounted engineer's measuring wheel.  Somehow I think this has been done before by others.  I did not bring my Garmin computer, but perhaps that could be used as well to measure.  I've also got some old bicycle computers with the magnet on spoke apparatus buried somewhere, but can't recall what type of information I could track on the computer head.  That may be something to look into.

Selle An-Atomica Titanico X No Slot

I got contacted through our local La Plata county development entity for a product test of a Selle An-Atomica saddle.  The county is doing all sorts of promotions for the bike industry prior to the US Pro Cycling Challenge race that is coming to town later this month.  A kinda-sorta-not really "retired" pro racer here originally gave them my name primarily because of the SWES, but I volunteered myself and some members of BWR for this test only because a past relation with the company.  

By coincidence, the original owner (Tom Milton) of the company was a friend of mine, but who since passed away while riding a double century.  Tom rode many miles and did many journeys, but one particular adventure was Paris-Brest-Paris back in 2007 - where he road his bamboo custom Craig Calfee bike and I would not at all be surprised if his saddle was his Ostrich skin Titanico.  Doesn't that just sound so regal and classy?

His sister Meredith now runs the company and they sent to me their Titanico Saddle, but without the "slot" design or cutaway. 

I normally run the light as can be racer type of saddle so I'm interested to give this a try.  So are some BWR teammates!  Selle An-Atomica has generally gone after the road biking market and they hope this saddle can fit in with mountain bikers.

"Preying" Mantis Eats a Snake

The cats were looking out a window for quite a while.  They were clearly entertained!

 At first it looked like just a dead snake in the bushes, but looking a little closer we saw the Praying Mantis devouring this little baby snake.

Wow.  

Happy 20th Anniversary!

Twenty years ago today in a small chapel a block or two off the main university campus where we earned our undergraduate degrees,

 Jeni and I got married. 

I was 24 years old and had dated Jeni for nearly 4 years prior to that.  It is hard to put into words how awesome this adventure has been, and well I'm not going to share much there anyway because it has been our special journey. 

 We've had a very rough week with some medical issues that came on me unexpectedly.  Fortunately for me, I was able to get out of the hospital yesterday - just in time to be at home to celebrate our special day.
 
If I am lucky I will get a chance to show my wife how much I truly love her and how I can't wait to see how the next 20+ years will unfold, now that we have our new edition in the family. 

My other little girl is growing up and the fun is just beginning for that adventure!