Back in the first week of October, I get an email from Dave asking if any of us were up for going out exploring on the mountain bike. He had a map of some land west of Gunnison that showed US Forest Service roads and trail. Dave stated that he had never heard of anyone mountain biking here. But in reality, why would anyone, when the mtb mecca's of Crested Butte and Gunnison were less than 50 miles away from where we would be riding. Well, there was trail there...and there was roads. The route was around 50 miles....but what the map did not show was the amount of hike-a-bike that we would encounter. Yuki and I decided to take up Dave's offer. Heck, why not we thought. The video tells the story....
Today's training ride had me doing a 90 minute solo tempo while holding a banana in one hand. OK, everything is true minus the banana part. Temps in the 50F's, no wind, and rolling terrain made for a good power file.
Yummy, 90 minutes at an average of 245 watts. What does that mean? I can power the TV for like 10 minutes. Sweet!
So it snowed like 8 inches last night. Before bed I honestly thought that I would be hiking today rather than getting in the 4 hour base mile session that coach prescribed. As I sat eating breakfast and drinking the morning java, the snow stopped and the sun began to shine. That was an instant green light to get outside and ride. Temps were sitting at about 27F...which is cold for here in the Front Range...but nothing compared to those rides we did in Iowa on gravel when our balaclavas would end up covered in ice.
I suited up in all the cold weather gear: Thermal bibs, Long sleeve jersey, Craft thermal base layer, Swiftwick wool socks, Craft lobster gloves, toe covers, and Craft booties. With the warm temps the past week, the pavement was in good shape, so the ride out of town was mostly wet and a tad slushy. Once I hit gravel, the higher I went the more snow packed it became. With the climbing tempo, I was sweating....but keeping it under control....or so I thought. I climbed up to Gold Hill...then further west to descend Sawmill Rd.
The next plan was to drop down Lefthand Canyon. I made it to Lickskillet Rd, before my fingers and core started to get chill. The descent windchill coming down was enough to stiffen up the front of my thermal jacket that was soaked with sweat. Made it actually hard to more my arms because it was freezing. I knew that if I went all the way down the canyon I would be in deep trouble trying to keep the bits warm. So, I headed up Lickskillet Rd to Gold Hill to stop by the Gold Hill Store to take advantage of the wood burning stove.
The ride up Lickskillet Rd would be a treat. The 1 mile steep gravel climb was covered in snow. I made it about 500 yards up the climb before the steepness and snow would not allow my rear tire to hook up. I hopped off the bike and then jogged up the rest of the way to Gold Hill. This actually helped to warm me up.
Once at Gold Hill, I swung into the store to dry some soaked clothing next to the wood burning stove. After a cup of coffee and 20 minutes of hugging the wood burning stove, I hopped on the bike for the descent back down to Boulder. It is awesome that the Gold Hill Store exists....because it is the only reason I was able to get back home.
I think to date, this is the coldest I have been while riding here in CO.
Anywho, I was able to get in the 4 hours today....although I wanted to call someone to come get me more than once. I wouldn't have had it any other way. Well, maybe a bit warmer, but that is about it.
Last 3 weeks of training have been focused on base miles on the bike....and some light gym and core work. Basically prep'n the body for the hard work that is going to be coming in the months ahead. The weekends have been reserved as 8 hr training blocks. Basically, 4 hours each day on the bike in HR zones 2 and 3. At that effort, it gives plenty of time to look at the scenery and mess around with the cams. Past 2 weekends have been fantastic for riding. This weekend is a different story with a Winter Storm Watch in effect. Today, I hit up the bike earlier that normal in hopes of getting in the work before the snow started to fly. I got lucky today. Sunday could be a different story.
Here is today's HR and elevation file. Tried to get as much climbing in as I could and still keep the HR low and the legs ticking over at 90+ rpm.
Sunday should be more of the same...unless mother nature starts taking names.
Even though the CTR doesn't kick off until the first part of August, the gear acquisition has begun. Over the past few days, race wheels have been the focus. As in years past, DT Swiss, will be the the supplier of all wheel parts. So, after sitting down and crunching some numbers....as well as sharing some emails with a wheel builder and pioneer of crack-head racing, a wheel build has been pretty much finalized.
Hubs: DT Swiss 240's, 32 hole Good reliability and solid performance make this an easy choice. I have opted for the 6 bolt rotor versus the DT Swiss Center Lock. The 6 bolt allows for rotor removal via the torx option on my mini-tool on the trail should I need to. If I used the DT Swiss Center Lock, I would have to carry some fairly large tools.
Rim: XR 400, 32 hole Beefiness meets reliability meets lightweight. This is not DT's lightest rim (it's their 3rd lightest mtb rim), but considering my wheel choice will be carrying around 210 lbs with bike, gear, and rider weight...it works. Plus, it can be ran tubeless via a Stan's conversion kit or the DT Swiss tubeless set up.
Nipples: Standard Pro-Lock, Black Good nipple with a great grab on the spokes via a built-in lock-tite like substance. Not as likely to loose tension during the 480+ mile from Denver to Durango. This is added peace of mind.
Spokes: Competition, black, 3 cross Just plain works and can handle load. Can be purchased at LBS on route if needed.
Skewers: RWS Thru-bolt Stiffens things up front and rear. Works will all standard fork and frame dropouts.
Wheels are going to be built at DT Swiss USA in Grand Junction, CO. Can't wait!!!! As for tires, I am planning on the tired and true Colorado tire, the Continental Mountain King 2.2 Protection set up tubeless.
More CTR planning posts to come! Lots of gear to mull over yet.
Here is about 1 hours worth of video footage cut down to around 7 minutes. This is from Day 1 of our 3 day training camp in Moab. Trail being ridden is Porcupine Rim after climbing up Sand Flats Rd. from the Slick Rock Trailhead.
Here is a 1 minute video of some sections in slow motion. Pretty cool to watch the suspension, the tires compress, and the rider muscle flex
3 days in a nice and mild Moab, UT kicked off the 2010 training. Sonya, Yuki, and myself spent the weekend riding as much of the Moab trail system as possible. By the numbers it came out to 17 hours of pedal time! I have a lot of video to edit from Day 1, so here are a few snap shots for now.....as well as all my photos.
Stay tuned! Hope to have the video up in the next 24 hours!
2005 Results
12 Hr Sugar Creek :: 2nd
12 Hr of Metro :: 1st
12 Hr of Thunder :: 2nd
12 Hr of Winter :: 3rd
24 Hr of 9 Mile :: DNF
24 Hr of 7 Oaks :: 1st
24 Hr in Japan :: 1st
2004 Results
Stump Farm 12 Hr :: 2nd
24 Hr of Rapelje :: 1st
12 Hr Nationals :: 3rd
24 Hr of 9 Mile :: 10th
24 Hr Solo World :: 12th
24 Hr of Moab :: DNF
Bio
NAME: Jeff Kerkove
NICKNAME: Mr. 24
COUNTRY: USA (Colorado)
TEAM:Topeak-Ergon DOB: 2.7.1978
HEIGHT: 6 ft.
WEIGHT: 165 lbs.
RACE CATEGORIES:
Pro (XC & Endurance) Click for full Bio
