Catching Up

It's been almost a month since my last post. Too much to catch up on. I ended up not doing Wildflower for a variety of reasons. I don't regret the decision to not attempt it. In my 'old' age I've settled into a pace of doing things for fun. Rain, camping in rain, riding in rain, running in rain...none of is sounded fun. I stayed home and started checking things off the 'to-do' list that sits on my fridge and constantly reminds me of all the things I don't get done. First thing on that list was my garage. I can't go in or out of it without stepping on something, having something fall on me or having to move something before I can reach what I'm after. Two hours later the garage was spotless, the new bike rack hung with an extra space for the new Cervelo R3 and the shiny cement floor was smiling up at me. It's not triathlon but it made me grin from ear to ear. So much so that I would just open the garage door to peep inside and remind myself how nice it looked. I'm happy to report it's stayed that way all month!!

With the Australia trip postponed we crammed in a trip to Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. I wouldn't get to ride but I had hoped to swim and run. Running became hard after stepping on a sea urchin and having him firmly implant a few spines in my big toe. I did manage to get some swimming done in the condo's uber small swimming pool. I did register for the SVMBT in June so the training continues. I also purchased a full wetsuit so I guess I'm committed to at least a triathlon and some OWS!

Now that I'm back it's been all about riding and training for Death Ride (129 miles, 15,000 feet of climbing over 5 passes in one day!!). Memorial Day weekend was spent at the Ranch. Thomas, Rod and a few of Thomas' friends came up with me. I've had the road route map for almost a year now and I finally had some victims to help me scout routes. Friday we did a shorter ride of 25 miles. Unbeknowst to us we rode up and down the two steepest roads in the county. Rand melted his carbon rim on the descent. It was scary and not worth doing again!

Saturday we loaded up and headed to Markleeville to ride Monitor Pass and Ebbetts. We started in downtown Markleeville so we had a warm up before hitting Monitor and its 7% grades. My plan was to take it slow, ride my own pace and test out climbing for that long. It would have been the longest sustained climb I've ever done. There were points along the way where is was just as much a mental challenge as it was a physical challenge. I kept reminding myself that this was making me stronger and would enable me to do Death Ride. The scenery was beautiful and although warm, it wasn't raging hot. We had a quick regroup about half way up. Greg told us the second half was easier than the first half and that was good news. I kept grunting away reminding myself that all I had to do was keep the pedals spinning. There were a few spots where I thought we had reached the top only to find the road continuing up. I saw a tower on a hill with a road and it looked STEEP but mentally prepared myself to climb it. Slow and steady like a turtle will get ya there! I was pleasantly surprised when I found the group resting at the summit marker and realized I didn't have to climb my way to the tower.

We rested, took pictures, chatted and dawned our jackets for the descent down. The roads will be closed for the ride but on Memorial Day there were groups of motorcyclists out and other cars out for a nice drive. I'm not a fast decender and a few turns scared me but I took my time and practiced my fast turns. The descent is steep and not one you can really relax on. It goes on and on and on just like the climbing but it's way easier.

We descended down to 395, regrouped, refilled out water bottles, ate some food and then headed back up. Ugh! The legs had tightened up and I mentally had to prepare for another 2500 feet of climbing. Slow and steady, keep the wheels turning. I was glad I had a triple!! I kept reminding myself that climbing on the new bike would be so much easier too.

I counted turns as I climbed, reminded myself to enjoy the view and kept the pedals turning. Another seasoned Death Rider rider caught up to me and we chatted about the ride. He advised me that if you could do two or three passes now then you'd be more than ready to do the whole thing in seven weeks. That was refreshing.

I had set a goal of reaching the top at 1:30Pm. It was a goal I pulled out of thin air since I hadn't really paid much attention to how long the first climb too, the mileage or my speed. I've ridden without a bike computer for a few years now. I just ride. As I completed the third hairpin turn I thought I was close and my spirits picked up. I started pedaling faster thinking I was close and could hit my time goal. I kept pedaling and pedaling and the wind picked up. I saw the steep hill with the tower and knew I had to get there to be at the top. I was still on the backside of the hill and had a few minutes to go till 1:30. Realizing I was not going to make it I wondered how much longer I had to go and told myself I need a bike computer for the actual day so I could plan my progress. It seemed endless but finally I met the group at the top. I was tired and hungry and eating just didn't seem to satisfy me.

I knew we had planned on two more days of riding so on the descent I asked myself if I wanted to do Ebbetts or do some exploring on the roads right from the house. The owner of the bike shop had told us about a ride around Pardee Dam that I was excited about. By the time I got down Monitor Pass I was tired but not entirely dead. I opted to head back to Markleeville and save the legs for another two days of riding. Ebbetts would be there for another day.

I have a lot more training to do but I'm getting more confident that I can complete all five passes. Gels and shot blocks no longer satisfy me so I'll have to start taking some real food on these long rides. Most of the ride today around Pardee Dam I was starving and my stomach kept begging for food and more food. The burger, fries and milkshake really hit the spot!!

Weekend totals are hard to calculate without a bike computer but we guessed I did about 150 miles of riding with around 10,000 feet of climbing. Next Sunday we'll be back up to do Ebbetts and Carson Pass. I'll have ridden the entire Death Ride and can mentally imagine myself riding it!