Week Ending Sunday, 3/18

With a storm forecast for the weekend, Susan and I had to adjust our training plans.  We had a big ride scheduled for Sunday which we moved to Friday.  Therefore, we also skipped Thursday night.

No massage or chiro this week, but I did 2 yoga classes, continued to do my own stretching, and got in the pool on Thursday.

Tuesday night was a good ride.  Rode a couple of laps with Israel, and a few on my own.  Was interesting with daylight savings to actually see the trail with sunlight.  Rockier up top than I thought, and looser in the turns than I thought going down Ishibashi.  I think I rode slower being able to see better!

Friday was another big ride, the last really big one before Vision Quest.  Susan, Israel and I wanted to do at least 6 hours, so we opted to do Blackstar Motorway, plus Maple Springs to the peak, with the possibility of heading across to MW again if we needed more saddle time.

We parked at Maple, so we could refill water half way through if needed.  The ride over to Blackstar was a bit chilly at 45 degrees, but I layered up and was fine.  Heading up BS, I was focused on my pacing, using this as a gauge for VQ.  I wanted to ride a good pace, but avoid intensity spikes that would cost me later.  I actually made it up to the golf ball in about an hour from the gate, which was great, considering I was trying to keep my pace moderate.  I had the same mindset heading over to the MW, especially trying to keep my intensity down on the steep climbs of the Main Divide.  I made it from the golf ball to the MW in just over an hour, so ride time, without breaks and extra credit, was just over 2 hours from the start area of VQ to the MW.  Pretty happy with that, and felt pretty good.

Headed down the MW and actually lost control a little on the first fast loose section.  Gotta remember to keep that under control.  Still made it down in a new PR, so getting a little better.  Israel was taking a break from the pounding he gets from the hardtail and took this pic of me descending.  He still just about caught me at the bottom.

At the bottom, I had plenty of water in the pack, so at Israel's truck I just filled my water bottle to the top and we started up MS.  Israel and I started up the pavement on a pretty good pace, and I was feeling it.  He fell back a little and I trudged on.  Started to feel that general fatigue again, where the legs felt pretty good, but as a whole, my body started to feel tired.  Nutrition or hydration maybe?  I do think I need to drink more and take in more calories on BS/MW during VQ.  I made it up to the Main Divide in about 1:12 from the lower gate, though I don't know how much extra that is from the bottom of MW.  Israel came up about 5 mins later and we took a few pics of the Salsas: the Spearfish and the Mamasita!

Susan came up a little later and we decided to head up to the peak, then back down MS to the car.  I was pretty tired by this time, and it was a little tough to fight through the rocky section up to the first tower.  Was happy to just keep pace with Israel to the peak, and we got up there in just under 42 mins.

We bombed down MS to the car, where cold beer awaited.  With the extra credit I did at Beek's and just before MW, it was another ride with over 9,000ft of climbing:

Bike notes:  front shifter came loose on MS, and I dropped my chain.  Creaking came back too, still can't figure it out.  The Pushed Monarch felt good, and it looked like I was using the right amount of travel.  The Avid front brake lost pressure coming down MS, but I was planning to install the XTR the next day anyway.  Done with upgrades?  We'll see.  The Spearfish is now down to 25.7lbs. and feels great.

Week Ending Sunday, 3/11

Another week of training in the books.  Lower on the volume this week, especially Sunday.  The big news this week was the new car.  Picked up my Lexus CT200h on Monday!

Much smaller than the RX, but much friendlier at the gas pump with 42 mpg.  The question is will I be able to get all my gear in there?  We'll see.  I was able to squeeze the Spearfish in the back on Tuesday and Thursday for my Del Cerro rides, since I didn't have a rack on yet.  

Speaking of Del Cerro, had a good ride on Tuesday with Israel, Matt and Charlie.  Thursday ended up being a solo effort, as Susan had to bail out last minute.  The first lap was gorgeous, catching the sunset as I was heading down Ishibashi.  Wish I would've taken a photo.  We should see more great views from now though, as daylight savings begins next week.  

Installed the hitch and rack on Saturday.  Went with the Yakima Hold Up this time and I really like it.  I think the only downside is not being able to adjust the positioning of the bikes.  I think we'll have to move seatposts, but that's not a huge deal.  Here it is with the Spearfish on.

On Sunday, Charlie, Israel, Susan and I rode San Juan with the Viejo Tie add-on, one of my favorite rides.  Was cold when we started, but warmed up quickly on the climb.  I rode the Mojo and intended to ride at a moderate but solid pace.  I think I overdid it a little (the Strava effect), and/or was a bit tired to start with, because the legs felt pretty fried by the time I started hitting the more technical sections.  My legs were burning and I wasn't recovering, so I just pushed on.  Made it to Cocktail Rock in 1:04, which I believe is a PR, though I hadn't pushed up non stop in a long time.  And it also included taking a tumble down into the bushes when I tipped over in the rock garden near the top.  Would be interesting to see how fast I could go on the Spearfish and with fresher legs.  The Mojo climbs really well, but the geometry is so different from the Spearfish, which I'm more used to now.  I felt a little cramped and my hip flexors tightened up some. 

The back loop with Viejo Tie was a blast and so was heading down the main trail.  Here are the ride stats.  Funny that no achievements were recorded, especially since I PRd the climb to Cocktail.  

Finished up and hit Los Golondrinas (a must when we do San Juan) for a machaca burrito to cap a great day.

Bike notes:  the Mojo felt great, though I'm used to the 29 tires rolling over rocks now.  Felt like the wheels got hung up going thru many of the rock gardens.  Still like the manuverability of the Mojo though, esp on the tight switchbacks.  The Formula One brakes felt great too, esp compared to the Elixir R's on the Spearfish.  One bummer: on one of my tumbles, the rail on my WTB Laser came out.  I was able to finish the ride, but I'll have to get a new saddle.  Felt like the Laser was too wide for any rides with significant pedaling though, so not a tragedy.  

Week Ending Sunday, 3/4

Had a great week of training, starting off with Yoga on Monday, rides at Del Cerro on Tuesday and Thursday, swimming, massage and chiro on Friday, then a huge training ride on Saturday.

Tuesday was the first ride with the upgraded parts on the Spearfish, and it felt good.  Not sure how much was mental, but the near pound off the wheels and tires sure seemed to make the bike feel quicker on the climbs.  After riding a few laps with Israel and Matt, I decided to do a hard lap up Burma.  Ended up doing 11:15, beating my old PR by over 30 seconds.  Ended up getting a little tight sore in the hips and left low back, so I just did some easy spinning on Thursday.

After Friday's swimming and treatment, I felt good on Saturday.  Good thing, because Susan and I had a huge ride ahead: up Harding, across the Main Divide and down Motorway, up Maple Springs to Santiago Peak, then down Upper and Lower Holy Jim and back on the road to where we parked at Cook's Corner.

The ride from Cook's to the start of Harding was about 25 minutes.  I wanted to pace myself up Harding to make sure I left enough in the legs for the rest of the day.  I felt pretty good though and ended up getting to Four Corners in 1:33, including a 5 minute stretch break.  As you can see, it was a beautiful day.

After taking a break and waiting for Susan, we rode across to Motorway.  Strava told me this took 34:28. Motorway was fun.  Feeling a little more comfortable letting the bike roll on the rocky loose stuff.

The climb up Maple Springs was good, though I started to feel a little fatigued.  I didn't look at the time when I started up, so I didn't have any idea how I was doing.  I just wanted to keep it steady, and Strava told me I ended up making it up to Four Corners in 1:09.  Was thinking about getting some extra credit and riding down to meet Susan, but felt a cramp coming on in the hammies, so decided otherwise.  Good choice too, because after stretching, a snack and some endurolytes, I felt much better as we headed up to Santiago Peak.  Got up to the peak in 41 minutes, which meant 1:50 ride time from the bottom of Maple Springs.  Pretty cool to still have some snow on the trail.

Upper Holy Jim was fun.  Most of it was rideable, though there's still that sketchy left turn that I prefer to dismount on.  Was also fun to ride lower Holy Jim again, though I felt the legs cramp on that little climb in the very beginning.  The creek crossings were not as rideable as they have been, so unless that changes over the next few weeks, that'll slow things down for VQ.

The ride out on Trabuco Creek was super dusty from all the vehicle traffic, but we made it out in good time.  The last part was the road ride back to Cook's.  Didn't know how this would be, as I had only driven it.  After 45 miles and over 8500 feet of climbing, it wasn't pleasant.  More climbing than I thought and longer.  I think it ended up being 4-5 miles and 6-700 more feet of climbing.  Not terrible, but not pleasant at the end of such a long ride.

Here are the ride stats from Strava:

Bike notes:  the creaking came back.  Still not sure, but I think it's prob the qr.  Otherwise, the bike felt great.  The Ikons seem to be ideal for VQ.  Shock has been discharging oil since the Path fixed the air leak.  4 rides and quite a bit of oil coming out.  Still holding air though!