I'm starting to obsess a bit over the AZTR coming up in April. I know it seems so far away, but there really is a lot to do in that time. Mostly training but also gear acquisition and logistics planning. Luckily this race is maturing and there are a lot of blogs with a wealth of information which are super helpful. Still though, the 300 route is no joke and no matter the riders ability or knowledge, it has the ability to knock anyone out at any time. It has cut down some legends and I'm not anywhere near them ability wise so I always have that in my mind.
Gear wise, I ordered up the majority of my bags from Rogue Panda. For the time being I am going to roll without a seatbag, but I will have the full complement of frame bag, two top tube bags plus a handlebar roll. Seatbag will come later I'm sure, but I am going to see how what I have works out when we do a little run up to Crown King for a bikepack shakedown trip.
Also, I have been scouring for deals on other gear. I found a sweet sale for an REI branded down puffy jacket for 50 bucks. Score. It's an ugly color, but I don't really care.
Training has started to pick up a bit. Mainly focusing on doing more climbing now that the weather is getting cooler. A mix of hill repeats Monday is a 6 minute climb that I repeat as much as possible and Wednesday is a shorter hill < 60 seconds. Mix in a big-ish ride on Saturday. Humboldt will be on the regular rotation. At least every other week.
Starting in October I will be getting in at least 1 AES style ride per month starting with a running on the Prescott mini-monster.
Looking forward to all of it!
Thursday, September 8, 2016
Monday, August 22, 2016
Just one of those days...
I was planning on a Humboldt run on Saturday but Marcus texted and said he was going to be on the west side so I suggested a full PSP tour. He hasn't been out there for a while and is in fabulous shape compared to the last time we were out there.
Started bright (ok not so bright) and early at 5:15. We didn't want to take lights for 15 minutes so we just took it slow to start. Almost immediately I knew it was going to be a hard day. Marcus has a higher pace that me so I wasn't being lazy, but wasn't super pushing or anything but I knew right off the bat that my legs had nothing - even on the flat CAP road that goes from Deem over to Sonoran.
We hit up the grunt of an entry climb from the trailhead and got started. I was trying to not slow Marcus down too much, so I kept the pace decent but I was already feeling like I was in the red on everything. Not good.
Stopped at some of the intersections to explain what things were and where they went (and to rest haha). I told Marcus I had to slow up a bit. I felt bad, because I knew I was holding him up. I told him that today was going to be a bad day for me. But I didn't want to waste the early start and hey... sometimes you just have to HTFU.
Onward...
Got up to Dixie loop and I knew I was in trouble. I had to freaking walk significant parts of the climb. I haven't had to do that in years. What the hell is going on?
Mercifully, the climb ended and it's a fast decent back down to Bobcat where Marcus was waiting for me. From there, it's flat through the neighborhood over to the North Sonoran section on the other side of Dove Valley. Marcus asked how I was doing and I said shitty but let's keep going. Mental game.
The climb heading towards Carefree Highway is milder in grade but it was still kicking my ass. Didn't walk at least. Before we started the climb, I told Marcus I'd just meet him at the new TH. I met up with him and he was sitting in front of the big fan they have installed. It's cool, but how about some potable water? Not sure what they were thinking there...
Now on to the pain game. It's a decent climb to the towers, but not too bad. But I knew what was coming, and it was going to be ugly. The north climb from central. I started walking pretty early and alternated between pushing and riding the whole time. Like I said earlier, it's been years since I've had to walk anything here... other than if I dabbed and had to push the bike to an easier starting place. Made it to the top finally and Marcus was not there... no biggie. Fast decent down and there were a lot of riders out today. Cool! I even came across Jeff and Nancy. I didn't say anything to Nancy, but as Jeff passed I said "Is that Jeff?" proceeded by a 3 second pause then finally he skidded to a stop. He looked like he was struggling a bit and they had a beefy climb that was just starting. Told him sorry for interrupting the flow, just wanted to say "hi".
The rest of the trail back to apache wash TH is mild and fairly easy, so I made it to there and I said we have two options... one are the flats back to SoSo, or the rest of NoSo to where we started. I was kinda hoping he would say flats, but he said that will be boring to which I agreed, so we ate a bit and finished up the rest of the full NoSo loop. A couple of painful spots, but nothing like the climbs on the other side.
Back through the neighborhood and to the Bobcat trail. This is deceptively uphill and is shitty when you are just ready to be done. There are a few short punchy climbs through a couple of washes as you make your way to the cholla forest and then it's a sweet downhill to another steep wash transition. Then it's the last major nut punch of the day. Strava segment called "nice climb". We today it should have been called "nice hike" because as soon as it pitched up I hiked the whole damn thing. Ugh. Finally that was over and did the fast decent back down to the trailhead where this all started.
Now just six miles back home. I always dread this part after a big ride. It's boring with a couple of hills thrown in and the final kick to the teeth to get back up to the gate. Done. Felt really good to be done with this ride. Dropped back down really fast, and then took a little dirt jump. I told Marcus that that 1.3 seconds of the jump was the only fun I've had in the last three hours haha.
Eff me what a day. Good mental training. I'm pretty sure this was due mostly to a very bad week schedule wise - lot's of late nights and early mornings. I'm pretty sure I was dehydrated at the start too and just was never able to overcome that. Good lessons. Hopefully I'll be back on track this week.
Started bright (ok not so bright) and early at 5:15. We didn't want to take lights for 15 minutes so we just took it slow to start. Almost immediately I knew it was going to be a hard day. Marcus has a higher pace that me so I wasn't being lazy, but wasn't super pushing or anything but I knew right off the bat that my legs had nothing - even on the flat CAP road that goes from Deem over to Sonoran.
We hit up the grunt of an entry climb from the trailhead and got started. I was trying to not slow Marcus down too much, so I kept the pace decent but I was already feeling like I was in the red on everything. Not good.
Stopped at some of the intersections to explain what things were and where they went (and to rest haha). I told Marcus I had to slow up a bit. I felt bad, because I knew I was holding him up. I told him that today was going to be a bad day for me. But I didn't want to waste the early start and hey... sometimes you just have to HTFU.
Onward...
Got up to Dixie loop and I knew I was in trouble. I had to freaking walk significant parts of the climb. I haven't had to do that in years. What the hell is going on?
Mercifully, the climb ended and it's a fast decent back down to Bobcat where Marcus was waiting for me. From there, it's flat through the neighborhood over to the North Sonoran section on the other side of Dove Valley. Marcus asked how I was doing and I said shitty but let's keep going. Mental game.
The climb heading towards Carefree Highway is milder in grade but it was still kicking my ass. Didn't walk at least. Before we started the climb, I told Marcus I'd just meet him at the new TH. I met up with him and he was sitting in front of the big fan they have installed. It's cool, but how about some potable water? Not sure what they were thinking there...
Now on to the pain game. It's a decent climb to the towers, but not too bad. But I knew what was coming, and it was going to be ugly. The north climb from central. I started walking pretty early and alternated between pushing and riding the whole time. Like I said earlier, it's been years since I've had to walk anything here... other than if I dabbed and had to push the bike to an easier starting place. Made it to the top finally and Marcus was not there... no biggie. Fast decent down and there were a lot of riders out today. Cool! I even came across Jeff and Nancy. I didn't say anything to Nancy, but as Jeff passed I said "Is that Jeff?" proceeded by a 3 second pause then finally he skidded to a stop. He looked like he was struggling a bit and they had a beefy climb that was just starting. Told him sorry for interrupting the flow, just wanted to say "hi".
The rest of the trail back to apache wash TH is mild and fairly easy, so I made it to there and I said we have two options... one are the flats back to SoSo, or the rest of NoSo to where we started. I was kinda hoping he would say flats, but he said that will be boring to which I agreed, so we ate a bit and finished up the rest of the full NoSo loop. A couple of painful spots, but nothing like the climbs on the other side.
Back through the neighborhood and to the Bobcat trail. This is deceptively uphill and is shitty when you are just ready to be done. There are a few short punchy climbs through a couple of washes as you make your way to the cholla forest and then it's a sweet downhill to another steep wash transition. Then it's the last major nut punch of the day. Strava segment called "nice climb". We today it should have been called "nice hike" because as soon as it pitched up I hiked the whole damn thing. Ugh. Finally that was over and did the fast decent back down to the trailhead where this all started.
Now just six miles back home. I always dread this part after a big ride. It's boring with a couple of hills thrown in and the final kick to the teeth to get back up to the gate. Done. Felt really good to be done with this ride. Dropped back down really fast, and then took a little dirt jump. I told Marcus that that 1.3 seconds of the jump was the only fun I've had in the last three hours haha.
Eff me what a day. Good mental training. I'm pretty sure this was due mostly to a very bad week schedule wise - lot's of late nights and early mornings. I'm pretty sure I was dehydrated at the start too and just was never able to overcome that. Good lessons. Hopefully I'll be back on track this week.
Tuesday, August 9, 2016
Flagstaff Weekend
The last couple years I have been able to get up to Flag to do the flag2gc ride. Both years Marcus and I have been able to go up the day before the event to get a ride in on Friday. Last year, even though we got up north early enough (usually the Monsoon storms brew a little later in the day), we got caught in some nasty conditions, but luckily came out unscathed.
This year, we ended up leaving N. Phx a touch before 5AM and were on the bikes off of Schultz Pass Rd at 7:15. We had pulled up a Schultz Trail loop that started on Lower Moto and decided to take that and then break off on the AZT heading North toward the snowbowl area... until we felt like we had done enough or the weather started to look iffy. We got about 6 miles in on the AZT section and then the clouds started to roll in a bit. Since we knew that we had about 16 miles back to the truck if we turned around right then, we decided better to be safe than sorry, so we turned back. 16 miles of awesomeness all the way back to the truck, with a phenomenal downhill run at the end. So much fun, and so beautiful!
This year, we ended up leaving N. Phx a touch before 5AM and were on the bikes off of Schultz Pass Rd at 7:15. We had pulled up a Schultz Trail loop that started on Lower Moto and decided to take that and then break off on the AZT heading North toward the snowbowl area... until we felt like we had done enough or the weather started to look iffy. We got about 6 miles in on the AZT section and then the clouds started to roll in a bit. Since we knew that we had about 16 miles back to the truck if we turned around right then, we decided better to be safe than sorry, so we turned back. 16 miles of awesomeness all the way back to the truck, with a phenomenal downhill run at the end. So much fun, and so beautiful!
As we finished up and were getting the bikes into the truck, the rain started. Perfect timing! Time to get the eff out and go get lunch.
The next day we got up bright and early for the depart of the flag to GC ride. It went off pretty well, they added a bunch of AZT singletrack north of FR 418 which was a blast to ride. I hadn't ridden the section north of FR 418, but had ridden it south of there. Amazing trail.
After that, there was a bunch of gravel grinding to be had. The sag stops were great, and overall it was a quiet peaceful day on the bike for me. I ended up helping Travis a bit and sticking around at the sags waiting for him to make sure he was doing OK mechanically. I don't think I'll do that next year. Marcus crushed it as usual. I don't have any pics of this day - I regret that a bit, but maybe next time.
Friday, July 15, 2016
Back at it...
Took a couple weeks off the bike for vacation and stuff. Started back this week with a smallish mountain bike ride and but this week is about getting the bike commute started again. Tuesday was hot, and today... supposed to be even hotter (112).
What a way to get back in it.
Next week will have more MTB added, along with some interval stuff likely.
What a way to get back in it.
Next week will have more MTB added, along with some interval stuff likely.
Wednesday, June 15, 2016
Tire review - Maxxis Mud Wrestler
These came on my Giant TCX SLR2 and I'm just about done with them. I've gotten about 750 miles out of them, but they just aren't suited for what I'm using them for; a commute with a bit of dirt but primarily rough pavement and a fairly decent amount of road debris including glass.
Now I can't really speak to how they roll, as I would be comparing them to big (by comparison) mountain bike tires. So this review is strictly based on tire life and ability to do the job.
I've had three flats, one was a pinch (my fault) and then two on the same commute yesterday. The second was my fault because I apparently didn't do a good enough job of checking the tire for additional pointy tube killers when pulling out the shard of glass that I though caused my flat. Well it did cause it... in addition to the other large thorn that had penetrated the tire.
So I guess it doesn't provide much in the way of puncture protection. The knobs had also wore off for the most part in the center part of the tire (especially the rear). I know it's more of a dirt tire than a pavement tire so I get it.
Next up will be some Panaracer T-Serv Protex which I think will fit my needs a bit better.
I'll continue to run slime tubes also and as always, I have two spare tubes plus a patch kit on board when I commute. That fact saved me the having to make a "call of shame" to my wife yesterday.
P.S. If people in Phoenix can stop breaking bottles and crap all over the road, that would be great.
Now I can't really speak to how they roll, as I would be comparing them to big (by comparison) mountain bike tires. So this review is strictly based on tire life and ability to do the job.
I've had three flats, one was a pinch (my fault) and then two on the same commute yesterday. The second was my fault because I apparently didn't do a good enough job of checking the tire for additional pointy tube killers when pulling out the shard of glass that I though caused my flat. Well it did cause it... in addition to the other large thorn that had penetrated the tire.
So I guess it doesn't provide much in the way of puncture protection. The knobs had also wore off for the most part in the center part of the tire (especially the rear). I know it's more of a dirt tire than a pavement tire so I get it.
Next up will be some Panaracer T-Serv Protex which I think will fit my needs a bit better.
I'll continue to run slime tubes also and as always, I have two spare tubes plus a patch kit on board when I commute. That fact saved me the having to make a "call of shame" to my wife yesterday.
P.S. If people in Phoenix can stop breaking bottles and crap all over the road, that would be great.
Tuesday, June 7, 2016
Of commutes in 113 degrees
Last Friday I continued my routine of my Tuesday/Friday commutes via bike to work. Nothing extraordinary about it, except for the high temp forecast for the day of 113...
A few of my strava friends commented about being careful and questioning my judgement. I told them not to worry. I have ridden the mountain bike in temps of 110 before. You just have to be smart about it. Utilize the shade at every opportunity. Pre-hydrate. Electrolytes.
Being on the road bike is a bit different than MTB just because it is more steady state pedaling. Less coasting opportunities especially here in Phoenix. The only thing I did a bit differently to help ensure my pace wasn't too high was to make sure I was only breathing in and out through my nose. If I had to open my mouth, I was going too hard.
I ended up making it home with no issues. I probably went a bit too easy to be honest, but no reason to be stupid either. The heat is no joke and will catch up to you quickly if you let it.
A few of my strava friends commented about being careful and questioning my judgement. I told them not to worry. I have ridden the mountain bike in temps of 110 before. You just have to be smart about it. Utilize the shade at every opportunity. Pre-hydrate. Electrolytes.
Being on the road bike is a bit different than MTB just because it is more steady state pedaling. Less coasting opportunities especially here in Phoenix. The only thing I did a bit differently to help ensure my pace wasn't too high was to make sure I was only breathing in and out through my nose. If I had to open my mouth, I was going too hard.
I ended up making it home with no issues. I probably went a bit too easy to be honest, but no reason to be stupid either. The heat is no joke and will catch up to you quickly if you let it.
Monday, May 23, 2016
AES Aspen Asphyxiation 2016
Saturday morning the alarm was supposed to go off at 3 AM but I woke up at 2:57 AM and turned it off before it would have a chance to wake up the wifey.
True to form being that I work in the IT world and am technically always "on call", my phone rang at 10:01 PM the night before with an issue that I would need to take care of. Meh. So much for a good nights sleep.
I was already loaded up and ready to roll, I just was waiting for Marcus to make his way to my place from Chandler. He rolled up and we got his loaded up then we made our way to the McD's to hit up a little bit of food, then the easy drive up to Flagstaff for a 7 AM race start. Made it to the Safeway and did some usual pre-ride activities and such. Talked for a bit with a few guys I knew (Joe, Brian, Eric) and then finally got to meet "Angry" Ray. Thing is, he's not very angry (unless you're a bike crank I guess). I was expecting a middle finger salute, but got just a firm handshake and a smile.
Saw some other riders that I "knew" strictly from reading blogs - but I was a bit too anxious to intro myself. My introverted self being in full effect in this case.
We got started and had a neutral roll to the start of the Elden climb and before I knew it, we were off. I watched the fast group take off and I settled in for a long but manageable climb up Elden road. Marcus hung for a bit, but eventually I dropped him but I knew he would come around. We were going to ride our own rides but would be together most of the time. Right now I do the big climbs a bit better but he rocks the DH and our normal flatish terrain paces are about the same. It worked out pretty well. I was really happy that I was able to keep Nancy and Brian in view the whole time.
Ended up at the top with a beautiful view
From there, fun descents and more beautiful trails:
Once we got to AZ 89 we made a pit stop for water and ran into a bunch of riders including John S who was out doing his own big ride with some overlap of our route. He was having a bad day, but we still got to talk about a few things. He took off in front of us and we were a bit behind him but we had acquired a follower - a guy who was doing the route but didn't have a GPS or cue sheets from what I can tell. He would stop when we would, and follow us the best he could, but he was starting to lag behind and eventually Marcus and I made the decision to drop him at one of the gates where we waited five minutes for him. We just couldn't let this guy impact our ride anymore. The decision weighed on me for the rest of the day, but I knew that there were riders behind us and a busier section of the AZT where he might find help if he needed it. All of that to say that if you are going to do these races, have your crap together and be responsible for yourself.
We passed John for the last time as he stopped to take some photos of us - here is the one he got from me. Thanks John!
After that, there was a bit of climbing to do but then the trail relented and we had quite a few fast flowy miles as we approached I40. Good stuff. Then we were back to climbing a bit, nothing big, but the day was getting long and we were getting ready to be done.
In true AES fashion, there were a couple of kicks to the nuts as we approach town and are actually right next to roads that would get us back to town... only to turn right and do some pipeline climbing and descending into a crappy headwind. Then another decent climb to get back to some trail on Elden. Finally the end came and it was a quick a smooth cruise on road back to the Safeway.
There was a decent group of riders still hanging out so Marcus went in a grabbed a few beers and we talked about the day and gave Ray a hard time about the end haha.
All things considered, I was really happy with the day and my performance. For me, these events are always about finishing. I think for most people they are. My previous ITTs have always put me at either dead freaking last or very close to it. Of course people are always DNFing these so just finishing is good enough for me. But this time Marcus and I came in middle of the pack, so I am super stoked about that. AES AA Results
Can't wait to do more of these events in the future.
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