Woah

Turns out this time capsule is still here....and the urge to write is still hanging around too.

First Century

Well it's been over a month since I've written anything. I've ridden a bicycle at least a few times over that period. I did something to the SS 29er fork riding in the Foothills. I really noticed it during the last descent of the day - the travel seemed to disappear and the fork felt like it had too much pressure. So the bike sat while a rebuild kit was ordered and then it took coordinating the use of a buddy's garage for a few hours. The bike is back together now and the travel is back and just as supple as when it was new.

 Last weekend was my first race of the season: The Albuquerque Big Friggin Loop (an NMES event). 9am start for both the 55 and 102 mile options. I was planning on riding the 102 on the B'snatch 1x10 MTB. The cross bikers dropped us MTB peeps heading up Tramway. I didn't try to give chase - too early for that. Hit the first bit of single track and then heading up the hill to the water tower Dylan (doing the 55) blasts by. He walks the rock chute on the other side; I ride it but he is immediately behind me and I let him by. About a minute later on a turn that dips into the arroyo and then rolls over a little rock slab coming out of it I break an aluminum I9 spoke. The rock slab doesn't have a ledge to it but I somehow managed to be leaning way right of the bike in the berm and when I went to crank out of it I must have side loaded the wheel. Ping!

I keep riding after an inspection stop, albeit gingerly. Wilder and Nick roll by. I pass Anatoly on his SS cross bike. I pass the Scalo peeps after one of them wrecks and they all stop. I follow my GPS instead of just using my common sense and knowledge of the trail system and make two short detours in the south foothills. I get off course going through the neighborhoods leading to Tramyway Rd. The GPS is being a real pain in the ass by this point and the track is disappearing, leaving a blank screen every few minutes. We ride as a group back towards downtown. Jason and I split to follow the course after the others decide on a beer stop. We ride together till the turn onto Rio Grande for the 55 milers. I continue on. Left to myself again I notice that the rear wheel is less true then it was earlier. The tire is about to buzz the stays. I get off course again on Bobby Foster Rd., worry about riding on the west mesa (where I have no idea of where I'm going) and bail to the Bosque trails back to the finish. I see a group of three other riders get to the clipboard seconds before me and so I sign out once their done. Good for 5th place. Sixty-five slow miles followed by some Whataburger to fill my stomach and sorrows.

Short Tuesday night ride with Mike and Jason (a different Jason). First ride back on the SS MTB. Legs were still sore and even 9 miles was enough.

Saturday was buckle down day: 104 miles on the SSCX. Rode "around the mountain" and then added the Juan Tomas loop in Tijeras and a few miles of single track in the Foothills on the way home.

Fitness

Rode to work on Tuesday.  Got out Wednesday for a night MTB ride in the foothills.  It was good to be back on an SS mountain bike again and I felt like a kid out there riding around.

After a couple of days of rain and snow riding on the dirt was pretty much out of the question so I hopped on the cross bike and tried to find some pavement to climb:



I think I found enough to wreck my legs for a few days...

Slow Start

January is almost over and I can count the aerobic activities I've done for 2015 on two hands, one if you count mountain bike rides.  I've done a few commutes and a few runs.  Why?  Because cold, because Winter, because I know how hard 2015 might be if I actually do all of the races I'm planning on.  Oh, and there was a mountain bike ride in the south foothills back before Thanksgiving that gave my thumb an owie.  I was headed up a steep climb, stalled out, didn't unclip in time, and fell downhill off the side of the trail.  I imagine that if I could have watched a replay in slow motion I would have seen my thumb bend backwards like it was a miniature gumby figurine.  I said meh, finished my ride on it, and kept chugging away with riding, work, and opening those giant pickle jars these past two months.  My stubbornness hasn't made it better.  I'm afraid to fall on it which doesn't make for good mountain bike ride.  Without my thumb I'm just like one of our cats wishing they could open the food jar.

Today I got out to Placitas for 17 miles of mountain bike action (much better than reading Mountain Bike Action):

 New Mexico mud is a PITA.  What can look like dry ground is more like a powdery brownie mix sprinkled on top of a layer of sticky egg yolks.  This was from two steps in a soft spot:

Spin those cranks!

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.