road riding goodness

Got out for a nice, long road ride with my TR partner Niall today. What a difference 2 days makes. I did a ride half as long the other day and felt like my ass was going to cave in or something. I just couldn't get comfortable. And that never friggin happens to me.

The day got off to a great start. Flat tire, not even out of Niall's yard. I change it and 5 seconds later ka-pow! Great. I discover there's not much of a rim strip so we try some rim tape. So, tube # 3...... ka-pow!!! WTF??

Ugh. Bow Cycle is only a few minutes away so I start walking. I get there just as it opens and there's already a lineup. I hate delaying the start of the ride as it's hotter than hell already and it's only 10:00. They fix me up with a good new rim strip and I am off (and the thought of flats is of course in my head). I've had 4 flats in 6 years on this bike. 3 of them were today.

We crank it up Sarcee Trail and head out to highway 8. The wind is swirling a bit, but it looks initially like we'll have a nice tailwind to ride home. Lots of traffic today, I really wish they'd clean the shoulders better on the highways. Probably next to impossible, but I can dream, right?

They built a roundabout at the intersection of 8 and 22, it works surprisingly well. I figured Calgary drivers would be too stupid to handle a traffic circle, but they've surprised me. We get to Bragg Creek and grab a smoothie. The largest road rider I've ever seen is sitting outside the cafe. Says he's done a few solo 24's. I hope he's faster than he looks.

We loop around and head back - into a head wind of course. Great. the one good thing that happens is that the clouds roll in and give us some shade. But I'm having a tough time finding my rythym. Niall is flying, I think he had to wait quite a bit for me. Sorry, pal.

The slog continues northbound on 22 approaching Cochrane. The wind is really kicking up and it's spitting rain a little now. I crest the hill and slam it into the big ring. Of course, I hit the red light at the bottom of the hill and lose my momentum. I gulp down an energy gel and hope it gives me some power to climb the dreaded Big Hill (yeah, points for originality on that one. Seriously, it's called Big Hill, WTF?). Even more fun, the wind is a cross/headwind going up. We have added motivation in the form of a huge dark cloud directly behind us. My form is ugly, but I make it to the top. And we turn and get a cross/tailwind home!! Yay!!!

Most of the ride is big ring and we stay ahead of the menacing cloud. I am tired but happy at the end. 4 hours or so and 110km on the odometer. Felt great for the most part, hope to follow it up with a mtn bike ride tomorrow. 4 weeks until the solo 24, 6 until the Transrockies. Gotta ride more.

my first 8 hour race

I said I was going to train a little more than I have, but you do the best you can, right? Sunday was my first ever 8 hour race. By the end of it, it would be the longest I have ever ridden a mountain bike in my life. And boy, did I have fun!!

The start time was super-early: 7am. Set my alarm for 5:30. I, of course, stayed up too damn late and ended up with maybe 6 hours sleep. Ugh. I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off in the am. Luckliy, I had set up most of my stuff the night before. The one nice thing is that the roads are next to deserted at that time so I got there rather quickly. I live on the far side of town so I think I may have been the last racer to arrive.

Unloaded my gear and got myself suited up. It was a tad chilly I gotta say, 10C in lycra and a jersey. BRRRRR. I do apologize to the one person who probably got a good eyeful of my bare ass as I was getting dressed. Too much in a hurry, didn't want to miss the racer's meeting.

It was a Le Mans start to attempt to spread out the field a little bit. Talked to a few friends and suddenly it was time to go! I wasn't running all that hard, was planning to pace it as I have absolutely no clue how fast I can go for 8 hrs.

The first hill was a bit of a backlog, had to gear down to the granny and wait for the lineup to get past the first test of elevation. I had no idea how the course was going to be as I didn't get a chance to pre-ride it. Luckily, my teammate Dustin of the Deadgoats was right with me, giving me a tip or two on what to expect. We wound through some doubletrack and then up a gentle climb, only to run into a really steep one. It would be one of only 2 times I would make it all the way up without walking.

The really fun stuff was the winding twisting singletrack. Some tricky water crossings, wet roots, narrow bridges and really nasty mud were thrown in for good effect. I can't say enough about how fun it was. I think a mountain bike race course needs to have more than just hills to challenge the rider. You gotta have bike skills, baby! Just say no to dirt roadie courses.

Lap two threw me a bit of a snag. One of the aforementioned tricky sections had a big root that I hadn't cleaned the first lap. I was bound and determined, this led to a spinout and a full on knee smash to the stem. Terrific. My first hour and I make a dumb mistake that might cost me my race. I geared down and kept spinning. The knee was throbbing pretty good, but I continued on. The root beat me, I walked around it the rest of the race.

Food was another mystery for me, I had no idea what to eat for a race like this. I brought tons of bananas, some energy gels, bars, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. We were also provided with water, Endura energy drink, bananas, bars, gels, etc. I also got half a sausage and egg McMuffin at the beginning of lap 3 or 4. it worked out pretty well, I had energy for the most part. I drank at least a bottle per lap and stayed hydrated. I never bonked, my body sure tired out, though.

The worst lap for me was my 9th. I was very tired. I walked all of the really long hill instead of most of it. I got sloppy and slid shoulder first into a tree. Hard. That shook me up pretty good. I got back on and kept slogging. I hit a fun downhill section and let go of the brakes. I hit a turn at the bottom and my tires didn't grab. High speed dirt. Ouch. I was doing probably close to 40 km/h. I got up with a small chunk out of my left shin, a sore hip and bruised pride. I was in one of those places where no one was there to witness it. I took a few moments to gather myself and untangle the bars and it was back on the bike. It took everything in my power to finish the lap.

The only reason I did lap 10 was my wife. I was very emotional, near tears from pain and exhaustion. She cheered me up and I set out for one more. Thanks, baby! Very happy that I did. I felt good! I left almost all of my energy on the trails. My wife snapped a few photos and I collapsed on the grass.

Wow, what a day! In the end, I finished with 86.88 km and a total of 6 hours and 40 minutes on the bike. I accomplished what I wanted to do: ride for pretty much the entire time.

My old friend Dallas schooled us all with I think 15 laps at the end. The man is a machine! My teammate Pat Doyle was third in the solo category. Well done!

Congrats to all who participated, so many people did so well! And my friends the Deadgoats did an amazing job organizing. I will be back next year!

Thx to Patrick Graham for the photos.