Leadville Pre-Race

Race week finally arrived.  After riding on Saturday, and because we were leaving early on Wednesday am, I thought it would be good to ride Del Cerro on Monday instead of Tuesday.  That way, we could also do an easy ride in Leadville on Thursday before racing on Saturday and I should be well rested.

We hit the road as planned on Wednesday am and drove to Green River, UT, about 2/3 of the way to Leadville.
We stayed at a little motel called the Robbers Roost, which was inexpensive and adequate.  Israel and I woke up and had breakfast in a local coffee house, which had a cool feel to it, except the help wasn't real friendly.  Strange for Utah.  We then picked up Susan and it the road to Leadville.  The plan was to get into Leadville, scope out the situation with checking in, etc., do a little ride, then head out to our motel in Buena Vista.



We finally arrived to town and you can see Leadville maintained the feel of a historic mining town. Here are pics from 1879 and present:

During the check in, we ran into Sonya Looney, who Israel and I both have a little crush on. What's not to like right?  Hot, awesome endurance mountain biker, and from her blogs, seemed to be really cool.  Well, we're both even bigger fans now.  She was totally cool and not only let us both take pics with her, but she spent extra time talking to us, even though it appeared her crew was ready to move on.

We also stopped by the 'Herbalife Base Camp', which was right near the registration area.  Susan made arrangements for us to hang out there and also for us to get Herbalife 24 race kits.  Cool.

We headed out to ride and decided to go out for about an hour, maybe a little more.  After scoping out the options we set out to ride the first part of the course, and maybe check out the first part of the St. Kevins climb.  After circling around some and trying to find our way, we ran into a group of guys who were also heading out to climb St. Kevins and they invited us along.  We started up St. Kevins, and it was fairly steady, but there were a few steep sections. It felt good to ride, but I felt the altitude, especially when trying to catch my breath.  Maybe it was riding with those other guys, but we went a little harder than planned, and also quite a bit longer.  We ended up doing a 2-hour ride.  Not crazy or stupid but not part of the game plan either, knowing it's harder to recover in the altitude, and I am always better off with more recovery time.  Was good to get some anxiety out though.

Week Ending August 5- Tapering

After the Harding ride there was just a couple of weeks until the race, so it was time to taper.  Because I felt like I was behind and still trying to catch up, this meant keeping the frequency, but dropping the intensity and duration.

We did a pretty easy ride at Del Cerro on Tuesday, then a moderate PV road ride on Thursday.  For the weekend ride, Israel, Matt and I headed to Santa Monica and climbed Westridge, rode over and did the Eagle Rock loop, then came back and descended Sullivan Canyon.  The side singletrack sections in the canyon were really fun!  Was still a descent ride, but nothing too long or hard.

After the ride, I felt like I had done all I could to get ready for the race.  I had the setback in May, but gradually ramped up the volume until I felt like at least I had my base back.  Didn't think my high end was where I wanted, but with my goal to simply make sure I get the belt buckle and finish in sub 12 hours, I felt like I was in good shape.

Week Ending July 29- Harding

After Big Bear and with just three weeks until Leadville, I normally would have tapered more, but because of my time off in May, I thought it would be good to get another good training week in, then taper the last two weeks.

Did the usual Del Cerro on Tuesday and PV road ride on Thursday, then decided to do Harding to the peak on Sunday.  I thought Harding would be the closest thing we have here in So Cal to the Columbine climb.

The whole Leadville crew joined in for the Harding climb.  We started up and I felt pretty good. Charlie gapped me, but I put a gap on Israel and Susan.  I decided to push the pace up to Four Corners and made it up in 1:24.  Here's the obligatory bike shot up at Four Corners.

Though I felt pretty good during the climb to Four Corners, once we started climbing to the peak my legs soon reminded me that I would need to pace myself at Leadville.  I think most of my base fitness was back, but I was not ready to maintain higher intensities.  The good thing though was my back was holding up nicely.  All the yoga, stretching, massage and chiropractic work was paying off.  We all made it up to the peak and celebrated our last semi-big training ride.  Leadville was almost upon us!

  

Week Ending July 22- Big Bear

After the big road ride, it was really time to step it up for the biggest training ride yet.  Three weeks out from Leadville, we wanted to get a good 8-9 hour ride in.  Charlie and Israel and I met and decided to ride on the 50 mile marathon course in Big Bear.  It was ideal because it was at elevation, would be cooler than our typical riding spots (90+ that weekend in the Saddleback area), and it was actually a 25 mile course where we go back to the car to refill water and refuel.

Israel picked up Susan and I and we headed out to meet Charlie in Big Bear.  We parked near a golf course driving range, got ready and headed out for the first lap.  Israel was navigating on the Garmin, and we headed up the Fern trail, which was a bit technical, steep and difficult in spots.  We then caught the main 2N10 fireroad which was nice and steady.  On the backside of the loop there was a pretty difficult singletrack climb which looped us back on to to fireroad.  Susan was having a difficult time with a cold, so Israel and Charlie and I were doing some up and backs to keep moving and get more ride time in.  There was some fun singletrack on the way back, which made the loop even more enjoyable.  We got back to the car in about 3:45.  Susan was also having a difficult time with her hand, so she chose to do her own thing for the remainder of the day.  Israel, Charlie and I did a second lap, though this time instead of climbing up Fern, we climbed the road next to Bear Mountain (steep) which turned into fireroad and eventually got us back on the loop.  I was actually feeling pretty good at this point, which was encouraging.  We finished the loop this time in about 3 hours.  We needed about 2 hours to get in 8 hours of ride time, which we were determined to do.  This time, we headed up the road again and the fireroad, and decided to keep going until we hit 7:30 of ride time, then turn around.  When we made it back, we ended up with 8:15 of ride time.  It was a great training ride, and by far was the best  I'd felt since my back went out in May.  Super encouraging three weeks from the race.

Week Ending Sunday, July 15- Angelus Crest

After having fun, but struggling a little bit with my fitness in Mammoth, I knew I had to be patient and keep training, and hopefully things would come around.  After all, it had been just 4 weeks since I started riding again.

After riding 3 days in Mammoth, I took it easy at Del Cerro on Tuesday and had a good road ride on Thursday around PV, though it rained a little.  Neal was there at the ride, and he mentioned he and his club were doing a big ride out at Angelus Crest.  Israel and I agreed this would be great training, so we joined him.

We met Neal and his club out in Duarte and it was a good turnout, with a good 20+ riders ready for a big day.  I brought the Crosscheck, but switched the cross tires to regular road tires.  There was about a 20 mile flatish warm-up through Sierra Madre and Alta Dena before we hit the Angelus Crest Highway and the long 35 mile climb.  The climb started a little steeper at about 8%, but quickly it settled into an easier grade and seemed to stay between 4-6% for the majority of the time.  I felt pretty good, but knew I wasn't as strong as I would've liked to be.  My legs were glad there were no steeper sections, but were feeling good enough to keep spinning along.  We had a long rest stop at Newcomb's Ranch, which is a nice biker stop on the highway.  After lugging up a third water bottle for most of the climb that I  didn't even touch, I decided not to fill all 3 bottles there, which turned out to be a mistake.  There was another 5-6 mile climb after that and it started to get hot.  Here's a pic of Israel, Neal and I near the top.

The descent down HWY 39 was interesting, especially the first several miles, which were unmaintained.  I was glad I had the Crosscheck here, because even with road tires, it seemed stable and the steel seemed to smooth things out.  After awhile, the road was more maintained, then we dropped in next to the San Gabriel reservoir.  I was already out of water and the terrain began to roll a little, requiring more pedaling effort.  I finally made it down, but made a wrong turn into a residential area.  I was hoping to find a drinking fountain there, but no avail.  I made my way out to the river trail and it was only a few miles back to the car.  A really good training ride with just under 90 miles and 9K feet of climbing, and though I  didn't feel awesome, it was a step in the right direction.

Week Ending Sunday, July 8- Mammoth!

On Tuesday, we went to Del Cerro and my main intent was to dust off the Mojo and get used to it again, as I'd be riding it all weekend in Mammoth and I hadn't been on it in some time.  I was really glad I did, as I immediately noticed the positioning was uncomfortable and put pressure on my back.  I moved the seat forward and it definitely helped.  It also just took some time to get used to the 26" wheels, the different geometry, and even the dropper seatpost.  For the ride it turned out to just be Israel and I, and we got a few good laps in.

Mammoth was an opportunity to test ourselves in altitude, but also to have some fun with some awesome trails.  Matt, Israel and I drove up Thursday to meet Charlie, while Susan was arriving late that night.


When we arrived on Thursday, we met Charlie at the campsite.  It was a really nice campground called Coldwater next to a stream and not far from Twin Lakes.  We did a short ride from our campsite into the Mammoth Mountain park to show Israel and Matt around.  We did a steep loose climb from Lake Mary Road called Lakes Trail, did some of Paper Route, then descended a fun trail called Juniper, then headed back to camp.
   
On Friday morning we decided to ride Lower Rock Creek.  Most people ride this trail downhill, some ride up the adjacent road then descend it, but of course we had to climb up it, then head down.  Charlie gave a really good description of the climb.  Steep and loose sections along with some technical rock garden areas to get across in the first half, with the trail smoothing out for the second half.  It was a tough climb, but it was a beautiful trail with varying terrain and surroundings.  I recall there even being an Aspen grove we cut through.  The downhill was awesome.  Unfortunately Susan's hand was hurting so she took the road down while the rest of us had a great descent.  There were a couple of pretty technical rock/boulder gardens.  Charlie was the only one to clean the first one, but he skipped the next one and Israel, Matt and I cleaned that one.  In any case, a great ride and highly recommended if one wants to venture outside the park for a day.


On Saturday, Charlie did his own thing early so he could ride with the family afterward.  Susan also decided to ride a combo of road and mellower trails due to her hand.  Israel, Matt and I set off to do a fairly big ride in the park.  The plan was to try and ride to the top.  We parked at the Village and started up Uptown, which was a very nice climb.  I wasn't used to riding consecutive days though--let alone three days in a row--and my legs were making this very apparent.  We heard from Charlie that the park officials told him not to climb all the way to the top due to too much traffic coming down from the Gondola.  We continued up with the idea of finding an alternate route across.  We caught Beach Cruiser and thought we could then catch Bearing Straits across the mountain, then catch some fun single diamond DH and climb some more blue trails.  The problem was, we couldn't find the entrance to Bearing Straits.  It looked pretty clear on the map, but after circling around for awhile and doing an extra fire road climb, we finally ended up back at the same place and realized Bearing Straits is a one-way trail that ended where we were looking for an entrance--hence, no sign.  At this point we were a little frustrated and decided to head up Off the Top (where Charlie was told not to ride), but not climb the whole thing, just enough until we could cut across Gravy Train.  Well, we climbed up to the junction of Gravy Train and saw a couple of fast looking guys in spandex who told us we really should just climb up Off the Top all the way up.  They assured us there was ample visibility, so we could just pull over if people were descending.  We all liked the idea of climbing to the top, so we went for it.  By this time, my legs were feeling pretty fried, but fortunately my back seemed to be doing okay with the consecutive days, so I soldiered on.  Israel was feeling good, so he pulled way ahead, and I also let Matt pass me and he started to gap me as well.  About this time, I saw a family up ahead descending down the trail.  Turned out, it was the Gilmores.  I just think it's so cool Charlie can ride with his wife and kids at the bike park!  I said hello for a brief moment, then continued up the climb.  We were above the tree line and could see the huge switchbacks ahead of us.  I had trouble pedaling anything that required above minimal power, but luckily the climb was pretty tame.  I did walk a few concrete switchbacks.  Soon enough (or not!) I reached the top and met up with Israel and Matt.

Time for some fun descending!  The plan was to take Skid Marks (single diamond) to Bridge the Gap (blue) then down Follow Me (single diamond) all the way to Canyon Lodge.  Somehow though we missed Follow Me and found ourselves on Bullet (double black!).  Some of it was challenging in a fun way, but there were a few sections that just seemed impossible to us.  When we had the chance, we cut across Big Ring, then finished the descent with Shotgun (single diamond).  Overall, the descent was super fun.  I brought along the GoPro and got some pretty cool footage.  Here are the ride stats:

Week Ending Sunday, July 1

After Sundays ride, I started to feel more hopeful but still wish I had more time to train.  Less than 7 weeks until Leadville!

On Tuesday, I met Charlie, Israel and Matt at Del Cerro.  Charlie brought his new Tallboy, which I had a chance to ride for a lap.  It definitely felt more plush, especially the fork.  I think the seat was positioned a little further back than my Spearfish, and it put a little strain on my back, but I'm sure that can be adjusted.  In any case, a sweet ride for certain.  We ended up doing more than 2 hours of ride time and nearly 3500 ft. of climbing, which was good for a Tuesday.

It turns out a friend was in town and wanted to get together on Thursday night, so I had to skip the PV road ride and wait for the weekend.

Saturday was a busy day with my nephew's birthday party and a pub crawl planned in the afternoon, so Israel, Susan, Matt and I got an early start with the goal of a good four hour ride.  We went to Santa Monica and decided to do a ride similar to what Israel and I did a few weeks earlier.

We started up Westridge, and I still wanted to pace myself and keep it fairly moderate, but push a little bit harder than I had been.  Israel and I stayed together and Matt was close behind.  We then went across and down Sullivan Ridge to the boy scout camp gate and climbed back up to the top of Sullivan Canyon.  We descended the canyon and it was really fun.  Some of the side singletrack trails connect together well, and the main canyon is in good shape, with some good opportunities for jumps and drops.  Climbing back up was good too, as Israel and I kept a pretty good pace.  We made it over to Hectic and dropped in there.  It's always amazing how many hikers like to come up Hectic.  Luckily, my timing was good this time and people were able to pull to the side as I descended and I was able to clean the whole run.  It just shows the Spearfish is a pretty capable descender.  The last climb out of Caballero Canyon is always tough, but again, I felt pretty good.  Even when I got gassed I was able to recover.  We ended up climbing back up to the start of Broken Arrow (car trail) then back to Sullivan Ridge.  I wanted to get 4 hours of ride time in so we descended Sullivan Ridge down to the big tree, then climbed back up to Sullivan Canyon for a last descent.  I had to get to my nephew's birthday party, so I bombed down and stayed mostly on the main trail.  I made it to the car and the ride time was right at 4 hours.  Felt good!  Israel and Susan stayed to do a little extra, but I found out later that Susan crashed on Sullivan Canyon and hurt her hand.  Hopefully she'll be okay for Mammoth next week.


After the fairly big ride Saturday, then the pub crawl and a few too many beers, it took me all day to rally on Sunday.  I finally got off the couch, ran a few errands, then decided to go for an early evening road ride on the Crosscheck.  I was hoping to get about 3 hours in with some steady climbing.  Didn't quite get 3 in, but almost.  Turned out to be a great afternoon for a ride.  Was overcast for much of it, but good temperature.  Here's a pic along the rugged coast of PV:

Here's the ride info.  First time all year that I rode on both Saturday and Sunday.  We'll see how the back holds up!