Motorpacing on the mountainbike

Say what? More of a drool control and survival session more than anything for me on my mtb. Sonya is working with FasCat Coaching out of Boulder, CO this year. In prep for the Brasil Ride Stage Race in a few weeks she is doing some motorpacing on her road bike. Thought it would be cool to tag along and get some cam footage, so I thought. I knew showing up on my mtb would be a good test. It was basically a 50/50 shot as to whether or not I could hang onto the pace and speeds that would be seen over the course of this 1 hour workout. The short of it was I was good up to about 30 mph. Anything sustained above that had me spinning out on my SRAM XX. So, smack in the middle of the ride we were going down the road at 35 mph. Yes, 35 mph. I know that for a fact, as the number is burned into my head as I sat on the tip of my saddle trying to spin at like 120 rpm staring down at my Garmin 500. Needless to say, I popped. It was expected, but wasn't sure when. Sonya continued on her session with her session, and I followed the route back on my mtb. Below is a video from the day.

Jeff Kerkove said at 7:42 PM :: ::

Weekend Challenge: The 120 miler

Finally got the new road bike built up with....for the most part....proper partner componentry. New bikes do strange things to people. They beg to be ridden....broken in....ridden right the first time out. With a fantastic weather pattern flowing over Colorado right now (no clouds, temps in mid 80Fs), I decided to do a ride I have been eyeing for some time now. Basically, ride from the house in Ft Collins up to 12,000 ft on Trail Ridge Rd in Rocky Mountain National Park.....then ride home.  It's a big road ride, with 120 miles and around 9500 feet of vertical. All the climbing comes mostly in the first half of the ride as the second you leave Fort Collins a 5300 ft.....you begin the steady climb up to 12,000 ft.

The ride as a whole was good! The ride up was uneventful, except for a front flat tire. The higher elevations were slow going, but it was expected with the duration of the ride and climbing forecasted. RMNP was having a 'free' day today, so no gate fee to get in. Bonus!

The turn-around point at about 12,000 feet in RMNP.

The ride back is easy on paper, but a 60 mile ride home into a small headwind made for some suffering.

Stopped in Estes Park for the coveted Coke and to refill bottles. I don't drink soda often. A personal rule: I only drink soda.....or 'pop' as the Midwest folk know it....when I either ride 100+ miles or hit the 8+ hour mark on the bike. Got 1 of 2 of those today. Drink up! Over the course of the 120 miles and 7 hours on the bike, I went through 9 bottles of water and/or PowerBar Endurance. It was dry out there today!

Got to say, I am worked after the ride. Not sure I have ever ridden that far on the road bike prior to today. It's a waaaaay different experience than the same distance on the mtb bike. If you live in Fort Collins and have a good weather window, this is a great challenging route to add to your 'bucket list'.

GPS data can be seen on Strava here: http://app.strava.com/rides/1739570

Jeff Kerkove said at 6:27 PM :: ::

Post-Interbike detox ride

What better way to detox from everything that is wrong with Las Vegas than to break-in a new road bike doing a tempo up the canyon. Yes, that would be riding the Canyon up the canyon. Got to say I am impressed with the first spin on the Canyon Ultimate CF SLX. While not available in the USA right now, the time is coming when they will be. I can sit here and spew all kinds of tech info, but from my road riding experience (Cannondale and Rotwild), this is one of the better rides I have had. Sporty if you will. For me, the most noticeable riding features are: stiffness of front end and BB area, weight of the bike. Going to go long on the bike this weekend. Should be a true test of the latest bike technology to come out of Germany.

Off topic, the coolest things to come out of Interbike was some pretty set-in-stone funding to get to Nepal in March 2012 for the Yak-Attack. I have the entry covered, which isn't by any means cheap. The flight was the issue. With this appearing to be set, the plans to race for 11 days at 10,000 ft up to near 18,000 ft are moving forward. Seriously the trip and experience of a lifetime! Here is a picture from last year on Stage 9 at the course high-point of 17,500 ft!

Jeff Kerkove said at 12:33 PM :: ::

Race Report: Park City Point 2 Point

This was 'Take 2' for the Park City Point 2 Point. Raced this event 2 years ago....the first year for the event. It's a beast. In my opinion, the hardest single day mtb endurance race out there. Why? Well, it's 80 miles of singletrack. Rocky, rooty, loose, and sometimes buff singletrack. The course is always up....and always down. A true mountain bike course. Little to no recovery. Burly. Lets you know where your weak spots are in your training and equipment. Plus, this year, throw in a super staked field into the Open Pro category. Out of all my races this year, this field was the deepest and the most talented.

The race started at 7 AM. It was freezing. I lined up next to 2 time race winner, Alex Grant, and he said his SRM was reading 33F degrees. I was standing there in a jersey and shorts.....dressed for the near 80F temps we were to get later. Having learned my lesson the first year I raced here, my plan was to take it easy until about mile 35 (water aid station 1) then start picking up the pace. My goal....slay this course in 7.5 hours.



The gun went off and I took to the front to get around the closed gate before the burst of road to the were the race was in 'game on' mode. In the lead, I was followed by Josh Tostado and Jason Sager. Once to the dirt double track I started with my race plan. Through the opening singletrack through Round Valley I would drop back to roughly 20th place. I was comfortable and riding 'my' race. The sun was brutal. Sitting low in the sky if was virtually impossible to see the trail while riding east. Spent a lot of time with my left hind covering my eyes....while trying to ride the various ups and downs of the Round Valley singletrack.

With the first hour of racing down, I started the singletrack to Deer Valley. My legs felt good and I was riding a conservative pace. Guys around me were yo-yoing.

At Aid Station 1 I grabbed 3 fresh bottles and 2 fresh flasks of gel....and a PowerBar. Next up was some big climbs. I caught and passed 3 riders out of Aid Station 1. I kept riding my pace and soon ended up at another aid station...which was water only. I topped of my bottles and was told I was sitting in about 15th place. Perfect!

I would spend a lot of time riding alone over the next 20 miles. It was during this time that I make a costly mistake and miss a turn. The course was marked well with orange paint, but for some reason I was not see anymore orange paint. Where did I miss this corner? Unsure. While I was riding, unsure if I was on course, I asked hikers if they had seen racers....and they said 'Yes'. Good enough for me, I kept going.



It wasn't until I came to a fork in the road trail that I knew I was off course. This 'fork' in the road had like 4 options for trail. There was no orange paint. I knew I was now off course. So, my 10 minutes of fast descending was then followed by roughly 20 minutes of climbing. I some how got back on course, but never saw were I missed my turn. Only way I knew I was on course was I caught a few other riders.

Going off course totally killed my mojo. For the remaining 40 miles, I kept riding my pace....oddly enough catching some of the guys that I passed at mile 10. It was basically like starting from scratch in the race....hunting down racers. On the early portions of Mid-Mountain Trail, things took another turn towards bad luck. This trail is super rocky, and while descending a rock flew up and hit my rotor and spokes. Thought nothing off it until I dismounted a section and saw/heard my wheel/rotor stop dead in their tracks. I stopped for a second....spun the wheel.....only to see the broken spoke and bent rotor. Spoke wasn't a huge deal, but the rotor was bent enough to stop the wheel dead in its tracks. While ridable....it was a drag, literally. Downhills were fine. Uphills, the bike felt sticky with every rotor/wheel rotation. Things could be worse, I guess.

I was well past my 7.5 hour goal....and I knew I had some trail left to go...not easy trail. Nothing I could do but ride at my ability. Riders passed me....we exchanged words. But the time it was said and done, I crossed the line in 8 hrs 10 minutes....for 25th place. Ugh. Not what I was looking for, but it's racing. I keep thinking "What if I never got lost?"....likely would have finished in bottom half of the Top 15. I have to count my blessings. A lot of folks didn't finish for various reasons: broken wheels, bee stings, shredded tires, etc.

See HR and GPS data on Strava

Next up is a rest block, including Interbike, and then prep with Sonya for the Brasil Ride Stage Race in late October.

Jeff Kerkove said at 6:33 PM :: ::