8 Days to LOTOJA

I'm wrapping my final rides before I begin to taper for LOTOJA.  Wednesday I rode from Francis up the Mirror Lake highway up to Bald Mtn. Pass.  On the return I continued up the river road to complete the 100 miles. It was one of those days where I just didn't feel right.  I sure hope that I feel better at LOTOJA.

If you are one of the few who look at the blog regularly, you have probably seen a pic like this before.  This is the summit of Bald Mtn. Pass.  This has become one of my favorites rides.  The scenery is awesome, the road is in fairly good shape, the traffic is not too heavy during the week, and there is usually a tail wind pushing you up to the summit (unless you come up from evanston).  

Two of my kids somehow have contracted giardia.  The doc thinks it may have come from Utah lake. Wherever it came from, my poor kids have it coming out from both ends and my wife is at the end of her rope cleaning up the mess.

 

Product Reviews

I have been a fan of the eload heat for a few months.  I decided to try their recovery drink.  After my 50 miler today, I mixed up 8 oz.  It was horrible.  Whey protein with orange flavoring is a bad combo.  The search for a decent recovery drink will continue.

I thought I would mention some of the products that I have recently been trying.

The first product is sports legs.  I had a few sample packs and gave them a try on the tour of Utah and some training rides.  They didn't upset my stomach.  The only catch is that you have to remember to take them an hour before the ride--I'm not sure what would happen if you didn't.  I will continue to use them in different combination with other supplements.

The other thing I tried on the tour of Utah was putting down a packet of real salt.  I had some sample packs.  I'm sure it didn't enhance my performance other than helping prevent cramps.

During my ride on

 the tour of Utah, here is what I ate on the bike and what I ate at the support vehicle.  In order to stay properly hydrated, 

I would try to finish two waterbottles ever 25 plus or minus miles.

Pre-Race:

Banana

Yogurt

Water

Bike:

Jelly Belly sport beans - watermelon and orange

Honey stinger gels

Water

eLoad Heat Endurance drink

Truck:

Gatorade

Peanut Butter Jelly

Watermelon

Coke

Red Bull (this was for snowbird climb)

Chocolate Milk (at the finish--sorry Todd, I love the stuff)

One more week to train hard and then taper for LOTOJA.  I feel prepared and am  anxious to get the race done.  Hopefully there isn't any of the white stuff on Sept. 6

Restoring Bridal Veil Falls

A plan was announced today to rebuild the bridal veil tram and other new features.

refreshthefalls.com

They new owners also announced that for $90 you can have some ownership in the falls.  I'm curious what $90 actually gets me.  A rock? 

Tour of Utah / 300 Warriors Report

300 "civilians" were given the opportunity to ride the 4th stage of the Tour of Utah.  We were given a four hour head start over the professionals.  If you want to see the course, click here.  Here is the description of the stage. 

The Queen Stage of the Tour of Utah is a brute; 14,778 feet of climbing in 99 miles. Riders will see five KOM’s on their way to the finish at beautiful Snowbird Ski Resort in Little Cottonwood Canyon. Along the way they will tackle the tough climb past Sundance ski resort, up and over the Alpine loop into American Fork Canyon.


Saturday, August 16th
Park City to Snowbird
Course: 4 Climbs - Mountain Top Finish
Length: 98.1 miles, 159 kms
Climbing: 14,778 ft., 4,504 meters


I left right at 6 am with the first group out.  It was cold but I dressed appropriately.  Some toe warmers would be the only thing I would have next time.  We made good time out to Francis.  The group split up on the climb south of the Jordanelle.  I worked with smaller groups all the way through Midway and down Provo Canyon.  Over the Alpine Loop, I went slower than most--I knew I had to ride at a comfortable pace or I wouldn't have a chance of making the climb up snowbird.  I felt good over the loop and over suncrest.  I have never gone down the salt lake side of suncrest--wow was it fast.  I did ok to the mouth of little cottonwood canyon.  Some of the hills on Wasatch Blvd were annoying, they weren't extremely steep or long--they were annoying because Snowbird climb was coming up.  

I have never rode a bike up snowbird.  I knew it was steep, but holy cow, what a beast of a hill--especially after 93 miles.  It took me a while to drag myself to the top, but I did it.  I know your not supposed to use a MP3 player, but I had to turn on some tunes to get my mind off of the climb.  I was nowhere near the fastest, but I wasn't last.  

It was nice having my own support vehicle rather than relying on an aid station.  As a result, I ate well and had no problems with any cramps.  

I hurried and got down from Snowbird prior to the road closure.  I was at the mouth of the canyon when the professionals came flying by.  I was shocked how big the lead group was starting the snowbird hill climb.  I thought there would have been a small breakaway.

It was a tough but fun ride.  I thought it was awesome that 300 of us got the chance to ride in the Tour of Utah.  I was impressed with how many people were up little cottonwood to watch the professionals. 

Scouting LOTOJA

I spent the weekend at Bear Lake at a family reunion.  We had an awesome time.

I took the opportunity to drive part of the LOTOJA course.  There are three major peaks on the course--Strawberry, Geneva, and Salt River Pass.  I didn't drive strawberry, but I did go up Geneva, and Salt River.  There isn't anything too steep, except at the summit's of Geneva and Salt River.  There is a section of Geneva that is under construction.  It looks questionable if it will be paved within the next three weeks--otherwise, it will be hard pack dirt road.  On the descent of Geneva, the shoulder of the road has a lot of gravel on it.  The final two miles of Salt River looks tough.  It is long and straight so you see it all in front of you.  The road then turns to the left and you still have more to go to the summit. Other than the summit's, the road is a gradual climb.  Any climb has a flat or downhill section immediately following it.

I went for a ride this morning and did the provo side of the alpine loop.  It was a beautiful morning and an enjoyable ride.  I am getting burned out on some of these long - 4+ hour rides.  I am looking forward to riding for fun again.  

I got a call yesterday from a friend who was going to be my support vehicle this Saturday.  He backed out on me.  Now I'm scrambling to find another support driver.

 

New Gear & Gadgets

I took a quick ride up the alpine loop today.  It was the first time back on the bike since the Tour of PC.  I have to admit, my rear end was still a bit sore.  I had intentions to ride up to Snowbird, but I ran out of time and had to do something close.

I was sporting some new gear and gadgets.

1. My new edge 705.  It works awesome, except for the syncing issues that I am having.  My 305 had a sweet autostart feature.  I cannot find this on my 705.  Drop me a note if you know how to turn this on in the 705.  

2. New Giordana bib shorts.  After my wreck a couple of weeks ago, I bought some new bibs.  I'm still a fan of the Pearl Izumi's over these Giordanas.

3. New Descente base layer.  I can't tell if it is any better or worse than the pearl izumi base layers that I wear.  

4. Rasberry Hammergel.  It tasted ok, but nowhere as good as a honeystinger.  Until I find something that significantly enhances my performance, or tastes better than a honeystinger, I am sticking to the honey and jelly beans--Do I sound like yogi the bear?

I keep reading about all of the Leadville 100 riders.  I wish them all luck and hope they all return with sweet belt buckles.

I am planning on a final large ride on Friday in preparation for the Tour of Utah.  Sunday, I plan on driving the mountain passes of the LOTOJA course.  

Tour de Pain (Park City)

Saturday I rode the Tour de Park City.  I'll try to summarize to keep it short.

My start time was at 6 am with the "fun-ride" group.  I stayed the night at the newpark hotel.  My alarm didn't go off at 5:15.  I rolled out of bed at 6:38.  I was ticked off and hurried to the start line.  I decided to still do the super century 170 mile.  I took off with the cat 4/5's at 7:11 am.

Things I learned from the race.

1. Don't try to keep up the pace with the cat 4/5's if that isn't your normal pace.  As Phil Liggett says so well, I was the elastic band that eventually snapped partway between coalville and evanston.  

2. I will never complain about poor road conditions. Five miles of dirt road helps put things in perspective.

3. Choose the right wheels.  I rode on my Reynolds wheels that are deep dish carbon rims.  The wind from Evanston to Kamas was relentless.  I should have stuck to my Mavic's. 

4. Do a better job rationing water.  There was supposed to be an aid station every 25 miles.  I rationed my water to mile 100, but no aid station.  Finally it showed up at mile 105.  That may not seem like a big deal, but with the brutal headwind, there were a lot of ticked off riders.

5. Always carry money or credit card.  Since I was riding tubular wheels, I took off my bag that is normally under my saddle.  Inside I have some money for emergencies.  As a result, I found myself staring at a convenience store at mile 105 dreaming of a pepsi and no money.

6. Don't forget the chamois cream.  If I had been up at 5:15 am, I would have had time to eat, drink, and wipe on some cream.  In my rush to get on the road, I missed all of the above.

7. PB&J's never tasted so good.  Enough said.

8. Cramps.  I started cramping at miles 85.  They got so bad I had to stop twice.  I rode through them and they would subside for a while.

9. It's a mental game.  I went through a whole spectrum of feelings through the ride.  I wanted to quit so many times.  I found myself listing all of my excuses why I should quit.  For me, the only thing that worked was focusing on the race as 25 mile increments and thinking that the summit was only 125 miles and I could do that.

This was by far the hardest ride I have ever done.  I heard several comments that this was a lot tougher than LOTOJA.  That made me feel better.  The head wind was draining.  Several ambulances were running up and down the route.  

My left knee was killing me at mile 110 to the end.  I have never had knee problems before and this was a painful surprise.  It is hard to think about another race in two weeks and then LOTOJA two weeks after that.  

The Tour de Park City was not a "fun-ride".  I would classify more like a necessary evil.  I'm sure I'll feel different in a few days as the soreness subsides and the pain memories are not so vivid.