Your input would be appreciated

Take a moment and let me know what you do for your training.  Do you just go out and ride? Do you do intervals?  Up to this point, I have just hopped and logged time and miles. I'm looking to see if there are more effective ways to train on the bike.

Today I tried something different.  I read in bicycling magazine about hill attacks.  I modified it slightly to fit me.  I rode from my home to Squaw peak road.  As I climbed I would sprint up the road for 30 seconds as hard as I could.  I would then recover for 1 min., 30 seconds--recovery would be climbing 7-8 mph which is the normal speed I climb squaw peak.  After 4 repeats, I would take it easy for a couple of minutes and then do another set.  I did this most of the way up Squaw Peak.  I felt that this helped intensify my workout on a shorter ride.

On the way back down the canyon, Timpanogos Cyclery was having a demo day.  I couldn't resist stopping and taking a bike for a spin even though there was a chance my wife would be waiting on the porch ready to kill me for taking so long.  I took a spin on the specialized roubaix with the Zertz inserts.  The bike was equiped with SRAM rival group.  I'll be brief - The bike was very comfortable, almost too comfortable.  I'm used to a bike that is very stiff and responsive.  The roubaix would make a great century bike.  I was most impressed with the Rival group.  It shifted with exactness.  I loved the fact that you could pull the shifting lever in close to the handlebar (if that doesn't make sense, go check it out at your local bike shop and you will understand).   Max from Timp Cyclery, who just returned from Iraq, was friendly and very helpful.  

What's wrong with this picture?

The past couple of rides, I have been trying out the eLoad Heat Endurance Formula drink.  Some other products I have tried are Nuun, Mototabs, and Gu.  Initial impressions are very positive.  I will give a detailed review after using it for a longer period of time.

I rode the alpine loop again--Vivian to the summit and back to Vivian.  I must have seen a dozen roadies.  Other bikers help me push myself a bit harder--every time I see another rider, I have to maintain my ego/image by getting out of the saddle and dancing on the pedals.  

There were three roadies coming down the Provo side as I was riding up just past Sundance.  Later as I was leaving the summit on my way back down, these same three guys came rolling in.  What animals!!  I assume they came up the AF side, down Provo, and back up again.  

I heard some creaks coming out of my bottom bracket when I would stand and pedal.  I better figure it out - I never like hearing creaking or ticking like that.

The descent (my favorite part) was awesome as usual.  The bugs are getting bigger and I was lucky not to take one in the soup strainer.  After reading some blogs about taking notice of our surroundings, I did stop for a few minutes in the aspen trees above aspen grove just to relax and take in the beauty of the place. I'm a religious person and enjoyed a few minutes to ponder and pray.

I rushed back to the office just in time to join some of the guys from the office for lunch at Rumbi.  I had some fish tacos that I felt I had earned from my ride.  I highly recommend the fish tacos--The sauce on them is incredible (isn't it always about the sauce??)

I've included a picture of Joe below.  Joe is mid 60's.  Joe is a very experienced businessman whom I consider one of my mentor's.  If you look closely at the picture, he is in flip-flops, 8 feet up in a tree, sporting some very handsome orange shorts, and wielding a chain saw.  As I watched this, I thought, everything is wrong with this....including the shorts.  

Garmin problems

Yesterday (Wed.) I rode from the mouth of Provo Canyon to the top of South Fork and then to the top of the Alpine Loop and back. The route ended up being over 40 miles.  I struggled with the ride--whether it was the heat, the workout the day before, or just an off day, I believe it is the days when I don't feel on top of my game that benefits me the most.

On my way down the alpine loop (provo side), my Garmin (edge 305) kept turning off.  It seems to do this when I am on bumpy pavement.  It has become very annoying.  I'm going to contact Garmin and see if there is a recall.  If not, I may be forced to look at the edge 705.  I love my Garmin but I'm frustrated with these outages.

The High Uintas Classic results have been posted.   I raced under comp. citizens 30-39.

Trained in the Gym today - Bike Ride tomorrow (Friday). Should be the coolest day of the week with a high of 88.

Review of the Camelback Podium Bottle

While this bottle didn't get me on the podium, there are plenty of "pros" to this bottle and very few "cons".  I have used the bottle for over two weeks now including the high uintas classic last Saturday.

Pros:

1. Leak proof.  The bottle is leak proof.  By turning the base of the bite valve 90 degrees, you lock it shut.  I found that you can do this one handed.  Leaky water bottles tick me off--I hate having my electrolyte drink spill all over my frame.
2. Taste.  My initial impression was, how can a plastic bottle not taste like plastic?  As the weather has heated up into the 90's, my other water bottles have infused their "plastic taste" into my drinks/water.  The camelback bottle however does not.  
3. Bite Valve.  Unlike a normal water bottle, you don't have to bite and pull the valve open to drink.  The camelback has a valve that is unlike any other.  My best description is it burps open as you squeeze the bottle.  Even without rotating the vale 90 degrees, the "burp" valve does a really good job holding in the drinks.
   

Cons

1. Price.  Compared to picking up free water bottles at events, paying any money seems steep. I paid $7-$9 for my bottles.  

Recommendation

I initially bought a clear 20 oz. bottle.  This bottle heated up my drink very quickly.  I then bought a 24 oz. gray bottle.  Eliminating the greenhouse effect helped keep my beverage cooler a little longer.

On a side note, I worked out at the gym today. It felt good to sweat again as I have taken it easy since Saturday.  I am planning a ride for tomorrow (Wed.) around lunchtime.  It will be hot, but I need to work on riding in the heat.  I have a lot of training to do before the tour of park city on August 2.  

My wife bought me a new belt as all of my old ones were too big.  This one is almost too small but will serve as a gauge of my waist line.  Right now I'm at the biggest notch in the belt.  If I start porking up, this belt won't fit anymore and should be a message to me to get back to work and slim down.  

High Uinta Classic

Results Link - Click Here

Today was the High Uinta Classic that went from Kamas to Evanston - 80 Miles.  My friend Matt and I left at 5:30 am to drop my truck in Evanston and then back to Kamas for the start.  

The population of Kamas quadrupled this morning as the RAGNAR runners were finishing their running race (Logan to Heber).  Main street in Kamas was a bit crowded.  My sister Kara was doing this race with her relay team.  I looked for her but didn't see her.

The provided race numbers seemed very big to me.  Maybe all bike events are this way, but it felt like we had a sail pinned to our back.

Matt and I raced in the competitive citizen category.  We were the first group out around 9:30 following all of the racers doing the 47 mile route.  The pace started out easy 13-15 mp

h.  The first 20 miles was gentle uphill with some rollers.  About 5 miles into the race a guy in front of my nearly ate it as his chain slipped.  After that, I moved up towards the front of the peloton.  I didn't know if Matt moved up with me.  The peloton caught up to several groups including some women groups.  About mile 20, I felt like I had hit a wall - I dropped back a bit from the group that I had been riding with .  The road steepens at mile 22 and I was worried.  To my surprise, mile 22 to 29.5 (summit) went better than I thought.  I got out of the  saddle and passed up a bunch of riders.  As I came over the summit, the guy told me that I was 79th over the top (which includes all the 47 mile riders that started earlier).  I was hoping to do better.

I was all alone coming over the summit and most of the descent.  at mile 35 my chain came off.  I was pretty ticked that I had to stop and fix it.  It's also a quick way to dirty up nice new white handlebar tape.

Shortly thereafter I hooked up with a rider named Aaron from Draper.  We worked together all the way to the finish line.  We were doing 30+ mph at first but as we got closer to the end, our speed gradually came down to 22-25 mph.  

At mile 50 was the final feed zone.  Some lady wasn't paying attention and hit me in the face/chest with a water bottle as I was riding by--not a big deal.

We picked up a lone rider who was on a Scott bike.  It was nice to have a third person in the rotation.  We added another guy on a Merlin bike.   We rode as four for a while, but eventually the latter two dropped off leaving Aaron and I to work towards the finish.

Somewhere around miles fifty the Cat 1,2,3 lead car passed us.  A group of 8 or so rides came up on us quickly.  At that time, we were doing about 27, and I guess the Cat 1's were doing around 33.  Aaron tried to hop on the back of their group, but he couldn't accelerate enough to stay with them.  We surmised that the Cat 1's had taller gears on there bike than we did.  I ride with a 12-27 cassette.  There were numerous times I was spinning out.  Anyways, it was cool to see the Cat 1's.  I told my friends that one of my goals was to make it over the summit before the Cat 1's caught me.  So I was happy to have made it to mile 50 before they caught me (they started 30 minutes after me.)

I finished just over 4 hours.  I'm waiting to check official time, but it should be 4:04 minutes.  It is respectable, but not spectacular.  I was hoping to be in the 3 hour range.

I ran into Todd (eat sleep mtb blog).  He raced with the Cat 4's.  He broke away from his group at the summit and soloed all the way until 1 mile left.  The guy turned himself inside out and nearly made it.  

While waiting for my buddy Matt to come in, we heard that a car had pulled out in front of some riders and 3 guys hit the car--one suffering a broken collar bone.  I felt bad enough that I left my friend, but then I was concerned that he was involved in the accident.

Matt came rolling in and had been left to ride most of the flat alone.  He rode a bit with a guy named Fernando from Vegas, but the majority was on his own.  I take my hat off to Matt who has never biked any distances even close to 80 miles.  Driving from Evanston back to Kamas, we had had to stop on the freeway because Matt thought he was going to blow chunks.  Luckily he didn't.

Overall, it was a sweet event.  The ride over mirror lake was awesome and beautiful.  I will definitely be going back to do some training rides on that pass.  

The ceramic bearings in my Mavic Ksyrium ES's were awesome.  There was a noticeable difference.  I'm going to see if the bearings are available for my Reynolds.

Tour of Utah

As you probably know by now, I signed up for the Tour of Utah/300 warriors.  I thought that since I was training for LOTOJA, this would fit right in and be a piece of cake.  This email came yesterday from the organizer. 

I just drove the 300 WARRIORS course today and, at 62 years old (my 2008 "racing age"), I must confess I am scared witless! I'm lying here right now in a fetal position, sucking on whatever thumb isn't required to hit the space bar on the keyboard. I put between 4,000 and 7,000 miles a year on my bicycle, have ridden LoToJa five times and the STP (Seattle-to-Portland) 4 times, climbed the big climbs in the Tour de France (L'Alpe D'Huez, Colombiere and the Madeline), and I have NEVER IN MY LIFE seen a more grueling course. I kid you not when I express my sincere worry that some of you who ordered XXXL jerseys are going to drop dead before they hit the bottom of the Snowbird climb (You bet you'll sign the ride waiver or else!).

Oh yeah, be sure you have new brakes installed for the ride. Coming down from the Alpine summit will otherwise be a very bad experience.
Now, I've got to see about changing my name and getting out of town without leaving any traceable tracks.

Sorry to cut this short, but I've gotta switch thumbs and do some more whimpering.

Rick Bennett

Elevation map shown below

Emails like this always make me worried.  I didn't think that this would be an easy ride, but I expected to be able to handle it.  I guess after the High Uinta Classic this Saturday, I will be able to judge if I am in the ball park. 

My wife is going to blow a gasket

If your married, you've been probably been in this position before--Something happens that makes you feel like your wife is a time bomb that could go off at anytime.  You can either try to diffuse it or just ignore it and hope it doesn't blow.

I went golfing yesterday (picture of my friend Ben shown-Even though it looks like he hit a great shot in the picture, the result was a pretty weak shot--he must have forgot to put down his purse... lol ) with some people-and yes, it was business related.  As we were golfing at hobblecreek (cell reception is sketchy), I got an email from my secretary "Your wife is trying to get a hold of you."  A few moments later I got another message from my secretary "I told her you were golfing."  I emailed her back "I hope you didn't."  She wasn't joking, she had really told my wife I was golfing.  She of course did not mention to my wife that it was with investors.  My wife is usually cool about things, but when she is at home wrestling four kids, she is usually not too happy when I'm out having fun even if it is work related.

I fully expected my wife to go nuclear on me when I got home.  Amazingly, she was cool about it--major sigh of relief.  She even let me go raft the provo river that afternoon. 

Today (Wed.) my friend Matt and headed up early to drive the race course for Saturday (High Uintah Classic).  Even though I am born and raised in Utah, I have never been over the bald mountain pass/mirror lake scenic byway.  What amazing beautiful country.  This will be an awesome ride on Saturday.

The steepest part of the ride comes about mile 22 which continues to the summit at 29.5 miles.  I'm not sure what the grade is, but it isn't worse than anything on the alpine loop.

Watch out for the squirrels

My family puts out a live squirrel trap in our backyard and we have caught at least a dozen squirrels.  Within milliseconds, the squirrel has a name and is considered a new family pet.  The last one was named Mustard by my daughter Mia.  We take the squirrels up the canyon and let them go.  I wonder if they are "homing squirrels" and travel back to my yard.

Here is a crazy letter to Lennard Zinn from Velonews.com.  

Dear Lennard,

Two weekends ago a riding buddy's brother was eight miles in to a century when he sucked a squirrel in to his front wheel while traveling at a good 25-30 mph. He fractured his #10 thoracic vertebrae, but there was no spinal cord damage, so he will recover, albeit with some new and permanent internal hardware.

From what we can surmise, the squirrel got in the wheel and sheared the fork in half. The big chainring is bent, so it appears he came down on on the ring and then on to his right side, hard enough to damage the shifter, but not bend the bars.

We were all just surprised that a squirrel could shear a fork in half like that. Have you ever seen something like that happen before? I would have expected the wheel to just lock up, but I guess at 25-30 mph the force must be a lot more than I would have guessed, and as I understand it, carbon fiber does not do well under compression/impact. And the squirrel does appear to have hit the fork dead center — at the point of highest leverage.
Any thoughts?
Steve

Dear Steve,
I have seen this before — not in person but in photos people have sent me of dead squirrels and sheared-off carbon forks. The rider would be just as injured even if the fork had not failed — just the front wheel stopping so abruptly would have put him on his face. Watch out for those squirrels!
Lennard

Here is a link for more photos - amazing.

Foxes and Tigers

I rode the provo side of the alpine loop again today.  I should be taking it easy this week, but I wanted to 1. test my new bar tape (see pic of my new white bar tape), 2. get used to riding in the heat, 3. work off the fathers day coconut cream pie.

The first section to sundance went well.  I got up out of the saddle and pushed my HR and speed.  From Sundance to Aspen Grove, I was dragging a bit.  The final section, I felt really good.  I worked on keeping my cadence up and pushing the speed.

I passed many roadies both on the way up and down.  Traffic was heavier than it should have been on a Monday afternoon.  I guess everybody was excited to get out in the nice weather.

The tunes for the ride were complements of the very talented Bob Marley.  I forgot my headphones so I turned on my speakerphone which worked quite well.  I usually listen to audiobooks.  However today, some Bob seemed appropriate.

Earlier in the day I went golfing.  I haven't golfed since May 15th. I stunk 

it up.  We did see on cool thing--out at the Sleep Ridge Golf Course, we saw a fox chasing down some mice.  As you can see in the pic, we got fairly close to the guy.

One final note, how about Tiger.  You may not be a golf fan, but the U.S. open was awesome.  What a finish!!!

What not to do after winning a race

Eric Barlevav was a bit confused after winning a sprint in the Harlem Classic.  He forgot he was a cyclist and thought he was a soccer player attempting the soccer player belly slide celebration.

I wrapped my bars last night.  I'm going to do a ride today and give them a test.  I'm not sure about the white tape--As a young kid you never wanted to be the kid wearing the white soccer cleats when everybody else had black--it kind of feels like that.

"It means Luca Brassi sleeps with the fishes"

My intention was to do the Provo Canyon triple (Squaw, South Fork, and Alpine Loop) Saturday morning.  Things slowly changed beginning with dinner Friday night at Gloria's Little Italy (300 South in Provo - Fun place if your a fan of the Godfather).  The place was packed, but the food was delicious.  I had baked salmon that was awesome.  My only complaint was that it took way too long.  The gnocchi was killer too--and the desserts..... Needless to say, I ate too much and was laid out flat for the rest of the night.  

I woke up later than I planned, and had time for one peak.  I went up Squaw.  The traffic was light at 7:30 am as to be expected.  I climbed well frequently getting out of the saddle.  The canyon wind was brisk but not too bad.  There was no traffic on the descent, but the wind kept me from hitting my 50 mph.

One week until the High Uintah Classic.  I'll do some light rides this week--nothing too hard.  The weather looks like it will be perfect.  

I'm going to wrap my handlebars tonight.

Mental Toughness

I thought this nike commercial was pretty cool.

If you don't follow golf, Tiger has just had knee surgery.  The person narrating is his father Earl Woods who passed away a few years ago.  As a parent of four, I am constantly trying to teach my kids different things--and I want them to succeed and be the very best.  My son's baseball coach just told me last night that my son has some good fundamentals, he just needs some confidence.  The video kind of hit home for me.

You may not be a Tiger or golf fan, but mental toughness affects so many parts of our lives.

New products

I bought a couple of new bike accessories to try out. I've heard good things about the Specialized phat bar tape and gel. I decided to go with the white because my wife told me that white is the new black--I have no problem admitting I'm clueless in these matters. I'll do the
install and report later.

I also bought a camelback water bottle that is supposed to prevent  your drink from tasting like a plastic bottle even though it is a plastic bottle. It also has a "no leak" valve. We will see...

Finally, I'm writing this blog entry on my iPhone as an email. While that may be old hat to some, it is a cool feature I've never used.

Miles

Alpine Loop Ride w/ Random people

Is this March or June?  I never thought I would be wearing my cold weather riding gear in June.

I rode from Vivian Park to the top of the Alpine loop again.  Along the way, I met a photographer, Kenny, from Pleasant Grove.  He was waiting for the sun to co

me out so he could get his shot of the Aspens.  Nice guy.  He was working the old school photography, no digital/battery stuff.

I also passed some chinese ladies who were picking plants amongst the Aspens.  They had armfuls of the stuff.  One lady had some funky chinese characters tattooed on her face. WEIRD.

  

I thought I would be the only person on the loop today.

I saw one other biker at the summit who came up the AF side.  He was riding a cannondale and sporting a sweet hunter orange cabelas backpack.

You never realize how strong your tailwind is until you have to turn around and go against it.  On the way down where I normally get

to 50 mph, I was only able to get to 43 mph. 

If you look close at the picture, you can see a fawn.  The picture makes i

t look far away, but it was actually pretty close.

One week from this Saturday, the High Uintah Classic.  My friend Matt and I are going after the 80 mile competitive citizen category.  The goal is to finish, not necessarily compete.  

I called Racer's today.  He has my Ksryium ES wheelset.  He's had them for three weeks.  I'm still waiting for him to press in the new ceramic bearings.  I keep crossing my fingers he can get it done by the first of next week.

I Digress....

Although cycling season is in full swing, I'll digress for just a moment.  

I just received my new tele boots.  Thanks to SAC for a sweet deal and feeding my gear acquiring addiction.  

Last season I bought the NTN Crispi boots and the new NTN bindings.  I was not a fan.  They will be going on ebay this fall.  The problem was in the bellow of the boot (many people have complained about this) in that it was way to stiff.  

I'm going back to the T-Race with the trusty duckbill combined with my rottefella cobra bindings.  

Free your heel, free your mind.

What do all these people do for work?

I went for another ride today from Vivian Park to the top of the Alpine loop, out and back to Cascade Springs, and back to Vivian.  I passed several roadies and thought "don't these guys have to work?"  Then I thought, "Isn't that the pot calling the kettle black?"

Anyways, it was a beautiful day.  The ride up Provo side went well.  I didn't push hard because I know I would add on the Cascade Springs leg which I have never done before.

As I was dropping down to Cascade Springs, I kept thinking "Am I nuts? I'm going to have to come back up this.....".  At the Cascade parking lot I met another roadie--Todd N. (I can't remember--sorry).  Anyways, here is a link to his blog eatsleepmtb.blogspot.com.  As you can see in the pic, he also rides a sweet Scott CR1.  We rode half of the way back up together.  I was gasping for air while he calmly carried on a conversation.  His heart rate was at 132 while mine was at 156.  I could tell he was taking it easy and being nice riding along with me.  I finally told him to dust me and he did.  I dragged myself back to the alpine loop eventually.

I ran into a couple of other roadies at the top of the loop.  They were riding a Fuji, and a Ferrazzi.  Being the gadget nut that I am, we talked for a moment about the ferrazzi bikes. Todd can attest that I'm a gadget nut.  I kept asking questions about his SRAM group and talking powermeters and GPS stuff.

Now, you may be wondering why I posted a pic of my beautiful feet on a scale.  Let me give some background.  Four or Five years ago, I topped out on a scale at 230 lbs.  I made a goal to do an adventure race and drop some weight.  I made it 

down to 178 at the time I did the Jordanelle tri.  January 2008 I had put back on some weight--I weighed 204.  This morning was the first time I have been in the 160's since 1993.  

While I feel real happy about my weight loss, and progress on the bike, days like today are piece of humble pie.  I have a lot of work to do before my August events.  Thanks to Todd for riding along and helping pace me back up half of the Cascade Springs Hill.

I'm still trying to figure out how to get my ride graphs to enlarge and to be more clear.  I take screen captures (png) files.  Any ideas are appreciated.

Squaw Peak - Saturday

I rode from my home to the parking lot at the top of Squaw Peak.  

The river parkway had tons of traffic as to be expected.  The weather was perfect with the morning clouds having just cleared out.  I took it easy going up the parkway knowing that Squaw Peak was coming up.

I passed a bunch of roadies coming down the road.  I actually went up squaw peak faster than I normally do.  This was mainly because of a couple of Mountain bikers who were making good time going up the road.  I chased them down and my pride/ego wouldn't allow me to slow down so that I could stay ahead.  Usually on squaw I sit most of the way grinding my way to the top.  Today I stood for quite a bit.  My heart rate was higher than normal, obviously, but I felt really good.

On the way down I got behind an old man driving that had his ATV on a trailer.  He was extremely slow.  I was going to pass him, but he would wander from side to side on the road.  He, of course, was oblivious to the fact that I was behind him. He nearly hit a truck of DH bikers coming up the road.  

One of my favorite ride foods is the honey stinger gels.  I just bought a pack of their ginsting gels.  I have to say, the flavor is nowhere as good as the regular honeystingers.  I also tried the citrus fruit nuun.  It had a good flavor and didn't upset my plumbing system.

Three rides this week and one day in the gym.  I would have liked one more day in the gym, but I am real happy about the rides--2 alpine loops and squaw peak.

Alpine loop take 2

I rode the loop again today-- well actually, I went up Provo side and back down Provo side. I parked at vivian because of time restraints.  I love the tree that has been tipped over just past Aspen Grove (see picture)--The roots of the tree have grasped some good sized boulders.

I felt great todd all the way to the top. It may have been the new nuun energy drink I had today or it could have been the tailwind. Regardless, I made good time and my legs felt awesome.

I saw four roadies and a couple of mtn bikers.  Other than the traffic, it was really nice.

I prefer coming down Provo side more than the AF side.  Why? First and foremost is the speed.  How can you not love speeds over 50 mph coming down from Sunda

nce.  Second, the section from the summit to aspen grove is a blast with the winding curves--just watch for cars.  

I still want to ride Kamas/Mirror lake, but here is a picture of what the top of the pass looked like on 6/3.  

The pass will be clear for the race on 6/21, but there is still a lot of snow.

I will post my HR & speed chart later.

If I'm lucky, my wife will let me ride squaw peak tomorrow.

Check out this photo - Ouch

This happened in Mexico. 

Hopefully tomorrow the weather improves for a bike ride.  I would like to ride from Kamas up to Mirror Lake/Bald Mountain pass.  If the schedule doesn't allow, I will either do the alpine loop or just squaw peak.

Good News - Bad News

Many people I know are addicted to a website steepandcheap.com.  They sell discount outdoor gear.  We get some pretty awesome deals and usually end up buying things that we will probably never use. We justify the purchase by saying "I may need that someday".  

They have now launched a new site to further our addiction--Chainlove.com.  These are bike only deals.  I've already contacted them and pre-paid for the next couple of months.

Trip to St. George

I had to make a trip to St. George on Tuesday the 4th.  It was a whirlwind trip--going down and back in one day.  On the way down, my business partner Derek, got a speeding ticket for 112 mph.  The cop threatened to throw him in jail.  Luckily we were able to continue on our way, but now Derek has to travel to Fillmore to see the judge.  We are guessing his fine will be around $500.

On the way home, we saw a huge column of smoke.  It was very dark--obviously something was on fire.  As we drove by, a semi truck had caught on fire.  No cops or firetrucks were around.  The heat from the semi fire was tremendous.  It was still very cool.  A few miles later we finally saw some cops and fire engine racing down the freeway.  I wonder if the fire hit the gas tank.

Alpine Loop Ride

I rode the alpine loop for the first time today.  I left from my house and went up the Provo side.  The first part up to Sundance is a bear.  Traffic was also very heavy.  I felt good and my heart rate was under control.  

Once I made it past A

spen Grove, I started feeling worked.  I also had run out of water.

I realized a couple of things coming down the AF side. 

1. I like the speed of the Provo side better than AF

2. My wife was going to kill me for being gone almost 3 hrs.

I was right about my wife.  She has been ticked off at me all night long.  Hopefully she will cool down soon.

The ride was good, but made me realize how much training needs to be done to be ready for my events in August.

Here is a graph with the route, HR, elevation, & speed.

Miles

First Post

I decided to do a blog about my activities.  My wife thinks that I am obsessive compulsive.  She's probably right.  Anyways, I will share my activities with you.  Thanks for visiting.

Miles