Winter Riding

A Pugsley, a Mukluk, a Fatback, a snow bike, a bike.....call it what you will but it doesn't change the death march we did on Sunday.  An ambitious bunch of us gathered at Al Quaal Sunday morning to start/continue a tradition that I hope sticks for a long time to come.  Glen, Tyler, Tim, Even, and I ventured out at 11:00 am from Al Quaal Sunday morning with a finishing point of Marquette.  We all had our layers on, our water bottled, and our food packed, especially Evan who came equipped to feed an army, so we thought.  I think we all planned for about a 4-5 hour ride which to most of us isn't a big deal.  Not a big deal when it's 60 degrees or above.  But when it's 12 degrees everything changes and minutes become hours.

The first half was awesome, we rode fast, we rode slow, we crashed, we ate, we drank, we chatted, best of all we were riding.  We all knew that the first of half of the Noque was hard but on a bike it became extremely difficult.  Even at our leisurely pace calories drained out of us like a dripping faucet.  Muscles was being eaten like a wolf feasting on a dead carcass. This was evident when we reached the highest peak of Granite Point and Tim's already pale face was blending in with the white snow.  He tapped into Evan's carry on refrigerator and tried to replenish.  I think this was the point we all thought, damn that could be us really soon if we don't continue to eat.  Problem was we were all running short on food.  By 510, 3 hours into the ride, we all entered calorie deficits and food conservation mode.  The little hope we had was, as Danny would say, "It's all down hill from here!"  We figured on bikes and down hill an 1 1/2 hour journey to the dome was in the bag.  What we didn't figure for was us completely running out of food, our core temperatures dropping 3 degrees, Evens leaking rear tire, and diminishing sunlight.  We were finally reaching civilization approaching the Forestville trail head and we were starting to smile.  The smiles turned into gut wrenching laughter when Tim's bid for an out was an all out speed daemon approach down the hill finished with a Superman dive face first into the waist high snow.  The view was priceless!

Out of water, out of food, and out of energy we had 5k to go but all that didn't matter as a single track trail through Tourist park revitalized us like a shot of caffeine into the bloodstream.  All was worth it as we played like kids in a McDonald's play pit.   Our 1 1/2 hour estimate turned into 2 hours but we made it.  We pulled up to Tyler's house at 5 hours and 7 minutes of ride time.  Total out in the wilderness time was 6 1/2 hours.    As bad as this may all sound we all cannot wait to do it again next year.

This day would not have been complete with out Vitamin G so we all ate our favorite recover food, Culvers.

Ride Time: 5:07
Miles: 31.8
Elevation Gain: 1,893
Elapsed Time: 6:26
Avg Speed: 6.5 mph
Calories: >4000

Side Note: Today Danny Hill is doing the Arrowhead 135.  That's 135 miles on the same bike we just did 31 miles on.  The consensus from all of us after that ride is.....................DANNY YOU'RE FRICKEN CRAZY!!!!!!!

      

Making Progress

Every time I think I have things wrapped up another thing seems to pop on my plate.  Not necessarily bad things but just another thing to do.  Things with the team have been coming along great but I just can't seem to wrap it up.  I have been ready to make announcements and set things aside for the 2011 but we continue to work on new developments.  Being that they are new and good I do not so much mind.  I have a new February 1 target date to be done with all planning.

As for my training, it's been going good.  My off-season program has me making big gains with my strength.  I'm 8 weeks into the program and thats the typical time for a body to adjust and it sure has.  I have matched power and intensity numbers from years prior and thats after a long 8 month cycling season and away from the weights.  Every year my body continues to make strength gains and I feel it on the bike.  I look forward to transferring this years gains over to the mountain bike.  I have another 5-6 weeks of intensity/strength before I completely change my concentration to riding.  Write now to supplement my intensity/strength program I have been riding several days a week to keep the legs fresh and the heart healthy.  I have done a few snowshoes and skis but the Surly Pugsley has been a great tool for the off-season.  It has kept me on my bike and keeps my legs familiar with the spin.  Although my skiing hours are way down from past years my ride time is up and I feel like this will transfer a lot better than hours on the skis.

My pre-season has been planned and booked.  I have planned a 2 1/2 week training camp with my coach in California.  I'll be concentrating on riding and getting hours in the saddle.  At the end of my trip I'll be testing my early form at the Sea Otter ProXCT.  I'll be leaving April 1 and even though it's only January 24th that day is fast approaching.            

Eyewear Sponsor

While we have many announcements to make about the upcoming 2011 season including sponsor and roster selections. I figured I put out one of our new product sponsors since I put a twitter tease out last week.  The eyes of the team will be protected by WileyX Eyewear for the '11 season.  We are very proud and happy to be wearing WileyX Eyewear.  Look for the new style on the trails this year.