FAIL

Saturday I was feeling like I was fighting a cold and I couldn't rouse myself to go ride until after 11.  For some reason I thought I would still be able to pull off an epic ride even though it would be dark by 5:30?  From the house I rode up to the foothills and then took the trails south.  Copper to Tramway to Route 66 out to Tijeras.  The original plan was to ride 337>542 (gravel)>252 (gravel)>242 (gravel)>217>337 and then Otero>Tunnel on the way out.  By the time I was climbing up 337 I was at the two hour mark and not feeling such a big ride anyways. 

Instead I rode Tunnel>Otero and then took the unnamed trail from Tunnel back to the Coyote trail head. 

 Snowy singletrack

 It was 60 degrees and I was in shorts

Headed back to town on Route 66 I must have ran over a piece of glass because my rear tire sustained a cut in the center of the tread block and immediately went flat.

I tried a 2 oz bottle of Stan's and no amount of profanity and furious jerking with my hand pump would get it to seal up.  I finally gave up and put a tube in only to find out the tube had a hole in it from being mounted to my seat post for so long.  I'm about 20 miles from home via my original route.

 I blame this on the damn deer that throw their little Coronita bottles out the window and graffiti our roadways with images of their nude models.

Still, it was a beautiful day while I waited for my ride to show up.

Winter "Training"

We had a dusting of snow last Saturday night. Summer has left the building. It is the official indicator that the "Late Fall Party of Laziness" has ended and Winter training has begun (with or without me). So Tim and I ventured out in the dusting of God's cocaine and mustered about 12 miles in the Foothills.

I cannot reveal the details of my "SSWTP" (super secret Winter training plan) but it might involve pilates while watching McGyver reruns. Or it might not, you'll just have to wait until the Spring season starts. If I crush it you'll know.

I ordered a revelate designs tangle bag a few weeks ago and I haven't used it yet. I've been too busy trying to decide what I will carry with all of this new found space that is not on my back, but between my legs. So far I have made these conclusions:

 

Two 24oz Podium bottles do not fit.

A 48oz Nalgene fits (but then I have to refill bottles).

 A stuffed white squirrel does not fit.

One Giro Code fits....you never know when you might destroy a carbon last hammering on a bikepacking trip.

I was going to ride to work tomorrow but then realized that I am out of spare tubes and my front has two punctures from goatheads today.

 

Zuni Mountain

Prep for Zuni Mountain went down like this: 52 mile bike path ride (with a couple of laps on a cross course) the Saturday before the race. Then a week of no biking plus several days of meals consisting of pizza, doughnuts, soda, hot dogs, and Mexican food. If I had simply incorporated some EPO I would have had a winning formula. I mean, look how high this dude can lift his bike and he's not even on a podium, but he is PRO.

I roll up to the campsite at McGaffey Lake (there is no lake btw, just a pond with no water by east coast standards) just before dark on Friday and get the tent set up as the sun disappears. I'm in bed about 10pm and wake up throughout the night 'cause its way colder than I was expecting.

Saturday morning I down two slices of pizza, a banana, and some strong coffee from the percolator. Race starts at 8am and the pack takes off quick. I lag at the back; it's cold, my stomach is full, and I'm still not awake. I stick with what was probably the second pack for a bit and then they lose me. I catch a dude named Mone from Vail on some 29+ drop bar road bike contraption as he's taking off some layers. He quickly catches back up before the first singletrack descent though. I ride by myself for most of the loop, get lost trying to find Quaking Aspen trail, and then finish the loop up with Mone. I manage to keep my pit time to about 8 minutes and scarf down a stinger waffle.

One the second loop I knew where I was going but the tummy was misbehaving a little bit and I began struggling with cramps. I actually stopped twice on the Quaking Aspen climb to take a breather. Once I got back to the gravel road I started really watching the clock and was hoping to make it in under 8 hours. Somehow I dug deep and the power came back and I was able to rip it the last half hour or so and finish in 7:50. I'll be back next year, hopefully sporting a harder gear, a faster rolling tire, and some improved fitness.

Settling For Less

Less miles, less races. That's the way the past few weeks have been. I changed my mind and only did loop two of the Manzanita Mountain Epic, skipped the Delores 100, and have been putting in fewer miles every week. On the flip side I've done two cyclocross practice races which were a blast and that got me interested in doing some cross races in the future. There's still the Zuni Mountain on the table in less than two weeks and I have negotiated with my brain and legs that there will be no bowing out and no shorter course option for me.

Little Manzanita rundown: Small pack of us start at 7 am. First trail up is the Cedro singletrack. I try to get settled in. I'm not really awake yet. I over anticipate the climb at the end and give up to walking too early. Probably could have cleaned it if I had been paying attention. I do the hike a bike on the meadow singletrack and that's the last time I get a glimpse of Mark up at the top. At this point I'm following a couple of guys on geared full suspension bikes. I catch up on the little climbs and then they get away from me on everything in between. I have no desire to attack, just hang on for now. They miss a turn on Mahogany and I get ahead momentarily. They catch back up and we all ride Bear Scat together. Once we hit Harry's trail they are gone again. I stop to piss and use it as an excuse to walk. I'm not attacking the hills hard enough to clean anything, but on the other hand I'm not bonking or blowing up. We all get lost for close to half an hour and trace the trail back and forth until we pick up the GPS track again. GPS is being a PITA today, its constantly freezing and not showing the course ahead. Logan takes off and the other geared guys get ahead. I ride alone for awhile and have a minor wreck at the bottom of Lower Pine. I pass two guys I haven't seen since the start while climbing up the 462 dirt road and then catch the two geared guys I've been following all day at the turnoff for 12. We ride together over to Mighty Mule and then I try and drop the hammer on all of the rolling short climbs. I get to FS13 and they are still close behind me. I don't even attempt to ride the five hills of death, but just try to walk each one quickly. I pause at the intersection of middle? trail wondering if I'm supposed to take it back to the finish. The directions are not helpful and the GPS is still showing some extra trail. What the hell? The geared guys are mere yards behind me as I get to the intersection with cedro peak road. I make a dumbass decision to follow what the the GPS track appears to show and continue up towards the towers, enduring another short climb. The trail basically ends so I turn around with one of the geared guys in tow and we blast down the other dirt road to the finish. The second geared rider skipped our little detour and had already signed out on the clipboard. Damn. Five hours of effort blemished by a mistake in the last minute. C'est is racing I suppose, and I've earned myself a tie for second place. Mark however, has been back for almost a full hour already. There was no chance of catching him.

Yesterday I took Jay out to Tijeras so he could experience some good ole baby heads. We rode: Ranger station>Tunnel>Otero>Gnasty>Blue Ribbon>FS106>Drop In>Cajun Pine>Wild Turkey?>Turkey Trot>David Canyon Rd>Drop In>Blue Ribbon>Gnasty>West Ridge>Birdhouse>End.

Late Summer Blues

Since this is my first real "season" of racing, I've had a blast and have even surprised myself a couple of times. I've definitely made some progress and I'm faster than last year, no doubt. I haven't exactly met my goal of 400 miles a month, but I'm still working towards it. I'm glad to say that probably 70% of my miles this year have been dirt miles (mountain biking is still the best!) This year is starting to wind down and I'm glad: I think my legs need some good rest and I'm ready to focus on rock climbing for a couple of months. However, its not really over until late October:

Manzanita Epic (~80 miles). 9/27/14
Delores 100. 10/4/14
Zuni Mountain (82 miles). 10/18/14

Sunday I took the geared bike out to Tijeras (since I destroyed a tire on the SS) and wound up bending my derailleur hanger about thirty miles into my ride. I didn't have a single gear that was really working right so I bailed on my original route and ended up with 42 miles. Still, its always good to spend six hours in the woods on a beautiful Sunday.

2014 Kona Unit Review

First three rides on my new Kona Unit frame. Bike setup is almost identical to what I had on the Canfield Nimble 9. I never thought I'd say this but I think I found a frame that I like better than a Canfield.

Me: I'm 5'7", 145 lbs. I'm into endurance XC racing and all day epics. I try to build my bikes so they are a jack-of-all-trades do anything bike, with a focus on "trail" riding if you must call it that. Location: Albuquerque, NM and the surrounding areas

2014 17" Kona Unit frame (5.77 lbs with sliders and hardware)
Manitou Tower Pro 120mm fork with 20mm thru-axle
Flows with Hope hubs (rear SS bolt on)
Maxxis Ardent 2.4 F/Maxxis Ikon 2.2 R - Tubeless
Cane Creek 40 Series Zero-Stack
Thomson Elite X4 Stem - 50mm
Easton Monkey Lite Carbon Riser Bars
ESI Chunky Grips
Cane Creek Bar Ends
Shimano XT Icetech Brakes
Thomson Seatpost
Fizik Saddle
Truvativ Stylo 1.1 OCT Cranks
RaceFace Single Ring - 34T
Endless Cog - 19T
Total Weight: Not yet weighed.

The Unit came with a rigid fork, making the equivalent suspension fork somewhere between 80-100mm. I already had the 120mm Tower handy and am addicted to the plush ride I get with the Mars Air spring combo. I knew this was going to raise the front of the bike up and change the HTA to the neighborhood of 68 degrees. I helped to counter this additional height by using a zero-stack headset and reducing the spacers under the stem to about 4mm. I was also able to save about 11mm in the headtube/headset stack height compared with the previous setup (Nimble 9 with a standard headtube). By also using a 50mm stem (stock Unit build is 60mm), I feel I was able to counter any effects on the steering that the extra 20mm of fork generated. I immediately noticed that the Unit is stiffer than the Canfield was, while still having some compliance when things get really choppy. Switchbacks, which had me worried, feel easier despite the longer stays. The bike climbs SOOOO much better. When I hammer on the pedals the bike just takes off! I'd have to attribute this change to the geometry, stiffness, and stem all working together.

Broken Frame

Well, I broke the Canfield:

It happened about two weeks ago during an evening Foothills ride with Mark, Mike, Bill, and Tim. I was pedaling out of the saddle on a climb and heard a sort of loud pop. I stopped, thinking I had sheared a chainring bolt or broken the chain. I scanned over the bike and didn't see anything wrong so I hopped back on and pedaled another 10 feet or so. I could still hear/feel it. I stopped again and started looking over the frame. That's when I noticed the frame! Holy Shit! Walked the couple of miles back to the car and finished the evening with beer/chips/burger.

I wasn't too keen on the new N9 frame that was over a pound heavier and would require a new rear axle setup, headset, and seat post collar? So I ordered a Kona Unit frameset and am riding the Vassago until it shows up.

Broke the frame on 7/29. Rode around the mountain + placitas trails + ski area trails + south and north foothills totaling 97 miles and about 9400 ft of climbing last Sunday. Rode to work on Wednesday. South foothills ride with Tim last Thursday. Rode about 34 miles today in the foothills starting from the house. I was going to add in North Foothills too but I felt too tired. Only got in about 65 miles for the week. Meh.

I'm on the verge of getting burned out and my legs feel dead. I think I need to take a week off the bike and go climbing or running.

I'm going to skip the watermelon beatdown race and just chill.

Losing Weight

Managed to get in 100 miles last week but no super long rides. I did ride to work and then rode S Foothills>N Foothills>home in the evening, netting me 40 miles for the day. I took Tim out to Tijeras for the first time Friday afternoon and we looped up: Tunnel>Otero>Gnasty>Blue Ribbon>Otero>West Ridge>Birdhouse.

Saturday I got my new XT brakes set up on the Vassago. Bye-bye BB7's and hello responsive brakes! And I lost a little bit of weight while I was at it, about 190 grams total:

Early Sunday I headed back out to try and get some miles in but just wasn't feeling it. I had two slow motion wrecks going up Birdhouse and by the time I got over to West Boundary I bailed on heading towards Mars Court and finished up on Drop In>FS106>Blue Ribbon>Tunnel. Made it home before noon and before the storms hit. Two weeks until the watermelon beatdown, gotta get in shape!

Redneck Epic

Well, it is amazing how fast a month can fly by. Not a ton of riding to report, but some nonetheless. Mark C and I did a 50 mile South Boundary loop in Taos, 20 hard miles were ridden on the Sandia Crest trails, I made it back to North Carolina for a visit and did a Laurel>Pilot>South Mills>Buckhorn>Black point to point, and yesterday was the Chama Redneck Epic. First, a little photo dump and then a race report:

As for the race: 8am start for the 50, only about four other guys start at the same time. Everyone is worried about the trails being wet and a lot of people do a modified 46 mile loop to skip some muddy roads. Less than a mile in I'm by myself. After some tight switchbacks I'm at an overlook and I can see a lake and and elk herd far below. The valley is gorgeous. The first 6 miles are rough climbing and I push a little to hard trying to ride everything. I hear crashing in the woods around me and I find myself in the middle of an elk herd. They run along the ridge and disappear but I stumble upon them a second time a few minutes later. A woodpecker sounds out louder than a hammer driving nails and it's efforts ring through the aspens. There are wildflowers everywhere and plants I've never seen before. I pop out on a road and get a little relief. A right onto an old overgrown roadbed is a workout. I miss a turn for the CDT because the trail is so overgrown. I alternate between rutted forest roads and overgrown trail; I'm up high, there are hardly any trees. I miss another turn for the CDT and ride around for a good 20 minutes trying to figure out where the course is. I meet up with another SSer doing the 101 mile course and follow him for a bit until we reach the campground and the water drop. My stomach is not feeling hot and I'm not drinking enough tailwind or getting enough calories. Not really any point in standing around so I fill up a bottle and start the gravel climb on 87. I'm feeling ok for a bit and then the shorter steep pitches start to get to me. I walk a few. I come across Dylan in need of a tube. I give him the one on my seat post and take off knowing he will catch me. We ride together for a while just in case one of us flats. I wipe out in a loose gravel turn doing about 20 and tear a hole in my brand new (first ride) bibs. We turn onto the last gravel road section and Dylan pedals off. I'm feeling bonked but manage to pedal most of it. Hang a right on the singletrack I started on and race the incoming storm back to camp. Each little hill feels harder than the last and I walk more and more of them. Finally hit the overlook and its all downhill from there...

Taking Care of Business!

Finally managed to link together the big Tijeras loop that I've bailed on twice now. Nothing much to say except Tailwind is amazing and even carrying 112 oz of liquid I still managed to run out with about 1.5 hours to go. I tried two different spigots around the Cedro campground but neither worked. I managed to keep it together but I was definitely starting to feel dehydrated at the end. Didn't take the time to snap any pictures.

SS'ing Just Feels Right!

Headed out on Saturday to get some miles in. I had some other chores for the afternoon so I couldn't make it a long training ride. I tend to ride a lot of the same loops in Tijeras when trying to accumulate the miles so the idea was to try something a little different and finish some link-ups I had bailed on in the past: Coyote>462>Lower Pine>Pinyon>Bear Scat>Lone Pine>12>Meadow Ridge>Cedro Singletrack>252>542>Power Line>Delberts>13>Coyote Everything went as planned except the bottom of Power Line actually has a huge ravine that appears to have no crossing points. It's also a hike a bike at the bottom. I turned around, rode back up 542 and found another connector to Delbert's. On Delbert's I accidentally took the lower line along the ridge, which now has some low hanging dead branches and such.

Lost Alamos

Before I talk about Los Alamos, a few photos of our Memorial Day camping trip. We didn't actually get to climb due to the rainy weather but had fun exploring:

Pajarito Burnout: Last minute decision to attempt the A course (62 miles). Rolled into Los Alamos about 8:30 and cruised around for a campsite. Set up in a trail head parking lot and was asleep by 9:30. Up at 5:30. Coffee on the MSR pocket rocket and a sausage mcmuffin from McDonald's. I'm at the back of the pack which is fine. Hike a bike into the canyon within the first mile. I settle in with two other guys and we ride together for a while until we hit the big singletrack climb and they drop me. It's super hot and I just can't seem to get moving. Decide to switch to the B course (36 miles sounds better). Meet up with a SS'er and we ride and walk together up to about 9500' before the big descent. Stopped at the top to grab some snacks and photos. We ride most of the course together and the bottom sections of the trail in the dry stream beds is a blast. He bails at the Pajarito trail head water drop. I attempt to proceed but the trail is now fenced off by the Department of Defense and there is a no trespassing sign. I ride up and down the road trying to find the trail and eventually bail. Attempt to ride back to town and take a wrong turn. Backtrack and eventually find myself on the single track that the race first started on. Rode some of this and then lost the GPS track again. I could hear traffic so I said fuck it and headed up a forest road which put me back in town. Rode back to the start and that was that.

So This is What Hypothermia Feels Like

Today was supposed to be a South and North Foothills linkup. There was a rumor circulating of thunderstorms, but hey, this is New Mexico, what are the chances. I rode from the house, missed one of the turns on the bike path, and wound up further north on Tramway than intended. Made it up to Copper about 20 minutes late and met up with Mike and two of his buddies. The pace started fast and I couldn't keep up with the singlespeeders. We made it over to the North Hills and detoured to the Emery trail head to fill up the water bottles. More fast riding as we followed the upper contours of the foothills. Once I got to the fence at the top of the Pino climb it was raining and no one was in sight. I went about fifty feet further and hung out under a tree for about 10 minutes. Still no sign of the rest of the group. I decided I might as well finish the loop cause I was already soaked and headed back out. I didn't make it far before I started shivering. I bailed on 230 and wound up at the larger/nicer bathroom with an awning in front. It continued to pour rain with the occasional lightning bolt, all the while the temp continued to drop. I discovered a wall heater mounted up high in the bathroom. Success! Called Mike and eventually he found his way over after finishing the loop I had bailed on. Mike wasn't sure where his two buddies had disappeared to. The two of us and some Italian guy spent 15 or so minutes in the bathroom and then the Italian left. It continued to rain. We would venture outside, only to immediately retreat due to the temps in the high 40's. There was a wedding scheduled at a gazebo right next door and eventually the wedding planner? showed up to tell us to leave. On our way out I went over to beg for a trash bag to wear as a poncho. They handed me a bag and a smaller bag and I passed the small one over to Mike. I was seriously wondering if I was going to be able to make it home. I've never shivered so hard in my life.

Right as we were about to take off a Park Ranger showed up and gave us some big bags out of his maintenance closet. I put this bag on over the first one and he encouraged us to go back in the bathroom and warm up. Back in the bathroom I saw Mike's beard dripping with water and his bag tied with a little bow around his neck where he had made his head hole too big and I lost it. We laughed at each other and how I looked like sponge bob square pants with my over-sized bag. I raided the paper towel dispenser and stuffed my jersey with paper towels in an attempt to add an insulating layer. Several cycles of opening the door followed by retreating occurred. We eventually ventured out after the rain had mostly stopped. Upon getting to the ranger gatehouse at Elena Gallegos, Mike decided to finish the ride (since his Jeep was at Copper) and I was only thinking of the most direct way home. Heading down the hill on Simm's Park Rd. I spun furiously in my granny gear while grabbing brake to keep my speed down. The rain and wind picked up again and after about five minutes I saw a Starbucks sign and bee lined for it. I ordered a medium coffee and spilled a fair amount of it on the counter with all of my shivering. I stood around, sipping coffee, waiting for the rain to subside and eventually gave up and headed back out. I spun my way down Tramway and onto Comanche where several local asshole drivers didn't bother to use the inside westbound lane and sprayed me with a wave of water coming off of the side streets. The bike lane was like a river. As I lost elevation and neared Louisiana the sun started to reappear and I welcomed the bit of warmth as I rode the rest of the way home. All in all an epic ride and one that I will not easily forget.

Tijeras with Gears

Did something a little different today. I finally got some squish (rebuilt Reba) on the Vassago (with gears) and headed out to ride. Ranger Station>Coyote>Delberts>Power Line>Jackalope>337>Otero>West Ridge>Birdhouse. Coyote is definitely a little more difficult in the direction I rode it today. And Delbert's has lots of climbing. Oh how I hate the Power Line hike-a-bike. All in all the ride was pretty solid and the bike felt decent. I am totally used to hammering up hills with the SS and I sometimes felt my self stuck somewhere in no man's land where I'm not in a mashing gear and not in a spinning gear. It's something that I'm sure I'll sort out with more time in the saddle. One more week to the Parajito Burnout race!

The Legs Wear the Pants

Rode to work on Tuesday and fixed a flat on my way home. I had a goathead somehow make it through my cross tire and liner. And the Stan's wouldn't seal up fast enough so I wound up taking the whole thing apart. It finally sealed up and I rode home. Wednesday was run day and I knocked out about 5.5 miles in the Foothills. Friday I was planning on an East Mountains epic in Tijeras and was shooting for about 60 miles. I even stashed a jug of water at the Cedro campground to avoid running out of water like my last attempt. I started from the ranger station and by the time I got to the Tunnel trail head I could tell my legs weren't waking up. Up Tunnel, which went smoothly and I seemed to do a good job of maintaining momentum and conserving energy. Up Otero which went ok. Up Gnasty and then I didn't clean the bit of Blue Ribbon that I rode pretty easily a few weeks ago. Half a package of shot blocks on the forest service road, then Drop In, Cajun Pine, Wild Turkey, and maybe something else over to Mars Court. Eventually I made it back to Wild Turkey again for the rocky climb to Mars Court. This is where I realized my legs just weren't up to the task, as I stopped a few times on the same trail I had cleaned a week or two prior. I reminded my legs faster is easier. I told them they just needed to find a groove. I assured them that this is the most fun they'd have all week. I offered them a selection of treats from my camelbak. They wanted none of it. They told me that 60 miles was a bad idea. I pleaded that it was Friday and I had the day off. I resolved to prove the legs wrong and trudged over to Mahogany. Ponderosa was fun and I ran into a skunk on the trail. Thankfully I scared the little shit and it took off instead of trying to spray me. Back on Mahogany I started thinking about bailing and the thought wouldn't go away. Hit 242 and instead of continuing on Pokerchip I took the gravel to 252 up to the Cedro campground. My water jug was cold enough that I chilled for a few and gulped some down. Packed the gallon into my pack, blasted down the gravel, and took the pavement back to the ranger station.

Resting Up and Tearing Down

This past week was a lazy one, in a way. Between last weekend and all of the windy weather nothing much went down. I had intentions of commuting a day or two and my Thursday ride didn't happen because of some rain/wind. I knew that Friday after work would be my last chance to get some cardio in for the week so I headed out from the house to get in a Foothills loop. 25.21 miles in 2:01. House>Channel trail>Pennsylvania>bike path>Bear Canyon Arroyo>365>230>341>305>House........or something like that. Friday night Kevin got off at 11 and we loaded up to go climbing in La Madera north of Espanola. I'll link his blog later (he'll have some good pictures), but I did manage to take a few of the excellent bouldering and scenery: