Camera shy.
A small sampling from the photos taken by Tom of Venture Media Group while at team camp a few weeks back in Germany.
Mr. 24 said at 5:27 AM
Monday, May 12
A small sampling from the photos taken by Tom of Venture Media Group while at team camp a few weeks back in Germany.
Saturday, May 10
Poudre Canyon slog
Original plan put forth by Coach was to get up to around 9,000 - 10,000 ft to do todays three 20 minute uphill intervals. On Wednesday of this week I had made up my mind that I was going to drive up to Copper Mountain and then do todays work out on Hwy 91 up to Leadville. Well, good thing CDOT has traffic cams all over the State. I saved myself a 2 hour drive.
So, I opted for Poudre Canyon. Temps were in the high 50's and it was pretty windy blowing out of the north when I rolled out the door. Plan was to get up to roughly 7,500 ft. I pounded out the first interval feeling pretty comfortable having to battle the swirling wind in the canyon. The 2nd intervals was good as well. In the later minutes of the 2nd interval the skies clouded up and it felt like it dropped 15 degrees.
I turned around a bend in the road and sure enough it starts to snow. Hence, the reason the mountains look hazy in the photo. I went about another 10 minutes before wet roads and cold fingers made me turn around and head back towards sunny and windy Fort Collins.
As you can see, I wasn't exactly dressed for snow/sleet/freezing temps.
I was "on" for todays workout with snappy legs. I was comfortable with a cadence of 95-100. I had a PR wattage number I wanted to hit today, but missed it. Not a huge deal, as I was still within my wattage zone requested by Coach. Now, it's time for a little R & R to get ready for tomorrows tempo.I am jonesing to start sticking the number plate to the bike on a regular basis.
Mr. 24 said at 1:31 PM
Thursday, May 8
60% chance
There was a 60% chance of thunderstorms popping up today. I rolled out around 10 AM for what was to be a 3-5 hour endurance tempo ride. Leaving the house, I was set on riding 4 hours. My route today took me up and over Horsetooth....though Masonville....past Carter Lake....and through Loveland. A lot of cyclists out today. Most of them collegiate racers pre-riding the road race route since Nationals are in town this weekend.
Heading past Carter Lake I could see the clouds rolling off the mountains up in the Estes Park area. It didn't look too bad. But, in a matter of 20 minutes, the skies turned black and I pointed the road bike towards home in hopes of out running mother nature.
This is the last photo I took before I had to do an emergency evac all the electric items (camera, iPod, phone) into a zip-loc baggy I had my I.D. and cash in. I made it into Loveland...and then the skies unleashed a very very cold rain. I had a rain cape yesterday...but not today. I got a bit chilled, but the rain let up after about 15 minutes. Sure enough, 10 miles down the road, the roads were dry by the house. Talk about hit and miss.
Mr. 24 said at 1:41 PM
Wednesday, May 7
Structure.
Holy cow! Two days in a row of structured bike practice. Felt awesome to get back on the road bike after nearly a 15 day break. Nothing too crazy today for training. It was nothing but a simple 3 hour session with a 90 minute tempo interval thrown in. Legs are finally starting to come around after having that heavy feeling from all the inconsistent training.
Pretty chart today. The ride was pretty uneventful except for the headwind coming back into Fort Collins in the later half of the interval. Made it kind of difficult to find the sweet spot. Choosing a gear: it was either too easy or too hard. About 10 minutes after the interval while spinning back to the house, I ran over a foreign object in the bike lane to add another flat tire to the already growing list. Ugh.Speaking of flat tires, my Stan's project is now complete for my mnt bikes. I have a few mnt bike rides coming up to do some test runs to make sure the tires aren't going to roll off the rim. I plan on running this set up for the Front Range 50 next weekend. Also, I am praying that the new team equipment shows up from Germany soon. I want to run the hardtail for the 50 and there is to be a 80 mm Magura Durin, Conti Tires, and a sweet 2x9 FRM crankset coming.
Right now, I am craving a 3 day dirt binge above the Fort Collins city limits. 7 hour days sound fun. Oh, to dream.
Mr. 24 said at 2:26 PM
Tuesday, May 6
Opening the system.
Today was pretty much training to train. Over the past 10 days the training has been on the down-low and inconsistent due to work related travel. So Coach prescribed a 3 hour tempo in my Zone 2 heart rate. That puts me in about 140-150 beats per minute. Since the pace was mellow, I decided to explore a bit more behind Horsetooth Mountain Park.
There is not a lot back here other than a few houses. The road which rides at the bottom of a small canyon is dirt and rolling.
I only rode about 6 miles down the road before I turned around to head back home. Not sure where the road might lead for sure. Maps have it dead ending at some point before it gets to Rist Canyon.Tomorrow I am getting back on the road bike for a wattage specific workout. Going to be interesting to see how me body responds to low saddle times over the past weeks. Tonight is the New Belgium STXC. It's a no-go for me. I need to get the legs back...and it doesn't fit into the plan this week.
Mr. 24 said at 1:19 PM
Monday, May 5
Home Sweet Home
It's good to back home in Colorado. A road trip that began on April 16th at Sea Otter....then Germany....then Tennessee came to an end today at about 10:30 AM when I arrived back in Fort Collins. I headed out from Tennessee yesterday at 4 AM and drove about 14 hours to Hays, Kansas where I crashed at a local hotel.
This AM (Monday) I took off from Hays, KS at about 5 AM. With in about 1.5 hours into my journey to CO I soon found myself in a severe thunderstorm that was rolling east along I-70. The radio was going crazy with warnings and random weather updates. For about 20 minutes, I had to roll through this storm at about 30 mph due to heavy rain, 60 mph winds, quarter size hail, and insane lightening. A few times I was wondering if the hail was going to break the windshield in the car. Thank God no damage was done.
The best view of the 19+ hour drive from TN happens to be when you are about 50 miles east of Denver. Views of the snow capped mountains are a sure sign of being close to home.Tomorrow I resume my work and training routine. The training focus now turns towards the Front Range 50.
Mr. 24 said at 3:00 PM
Saturday, May 3
Dirt Sweat and Gears: The 12 Hour race
Once again, the 12 hour race did not disappoint. I said it last year and I will say it again...."If you did make it down here, you totally missed out." The wee hours of the morning were filled with moderate rain fall. The rain stopped about 1 hour before the event began leaving the course a muddy goo. The first 2-3 laps were pretty sloppy with racers thrashing bikes into pieces and wheels coming to a grinding hault with clay packing mud. After a few laps things firmed up and the sun came out. Here are some highlight photos from the day...
Yeah, it was that muddy.
Nat Ross and Josh Tostado chase Tinker on the opening lap.
Pua killing it.
Deejay being a monkey?
Ernesto swings in for a pit stop.
Hands down the best picture of the weekend. Say hello to the Ergon Super Fan.
Pua pits on the fly.
Lee Unwin has the focus going on here.
Josh Tostado thrashing another lap as the medical helicopter takes off after a practice landing session at the venue.
That is a wrap! Repeat after me...."I will attend DSG next year. I swear." This weekend is too damn fun. And for the record...I am racing solo 12 next year. Ergon has a firm hold on the southeast USA. I sold about 90% of the product...even though a lot of folks were already on grips.
About another 80 photos are posted here from today. If you see yourself, feel free to steal the photos for whatever use you may need them for.
Now, it is time to get some zzzz's for the 19 hour road trip back to CO.
Mr. 24 said at 6:31 PM
