Frozen Turkey Ride - Thanksgiving 2010

Dave G., Cori J., and Brandon (dressed like a robber)

I occasionally question my own sanity--especially this morning.  Leading up to the Frozen Turkey Ride, I kept texting Brandon weather reports. Nonetheless, we went forward with the ride.  It was cold this morning--possibly the coldest ride I've ever done. Brandon said it was 7 F.

I'm sure glad that I went.  Once we were climbing betty, my core was warmed up.  The sun eventually came out and made things even better.  We paused at the rock altar and expressed thanks for singletrack.

What a great way to start Thanksgiving.  On to Food, Family, and Football.

I'm looking forward to the draper velodrome

The Draper Velodrome, from what I understand, will be concrete.  The picture above is from the world championships.  There should be plenty of carnage when the newbies hit the track in Draper.

Big News

The weather is colder--I'm still riding.  Even with the snow/rain, the cat litter lined trails in the UC are rideable.

Anyways - two bits of cycling news that you probably have heard about.

1.  Draper continues to amaze me with their support of cycling.  The city recently approved the master plan for not only a velodrome, but a crit course, pump track, and more.  Check out the plan here.  I may have to move to Draper.

2. Cross is finally returning to Utah County.  Nov. 20 in American Fork.  Details here.

Hell-O-Ween 2010

The Hell-O-Ween Ride continues to grow. I'm not sure if anyone officially counted, but a guess was around 30 people.  Some sweet costumes.  The ride was a blast followed by a good breakfast at Denny's.

In addition to the Hell-O-Ween ride, the world night championship was held and a new belt holder was crowned.

Brandon and Rick also battled for a small prize to determine the winner from my small contest.  Rick won a beanie to help keep his bare head warm in the winter.



Hell-O-Ween Ride 2010 from atomicmiles on Vimeo.


Here is a link to the pic's I took

And the winner is.........

A couple of days ago, a small contest was posted. Of the entries sent in, no one had all of the answers correct on their first try.  I found it strange that within seconds of each other, Brandon and Rick finally submitted the correct answers.  Brandon's guilt must have got to him as he admitted a collaboration with Rick to get the correct answers.  Rick quickly pointed out that the "rules were clear... there were no rules".
To determine a winner, a race between Rick and Brandon will be held--maybe tonight at the Hell-o-ween ride.  Hopefully they put a serious amount of hurt on each other.

Answers:
1. Dave B.
2. Ricky M.
3. Rick S.
4. Kenny
5. Kenny's Bike he loans out
6. Dan Z.
7. Jon S.
8. Doug
9. Brandon
10. Rob R.
11. Brandon
12. Miles

A quick story about pic #11.  When we were riding the "whole enchilada" in Moab, Jason W. walked up to Brandon and asked, "Hey Brandon, what are these?"  He thought they were some new hi-tech bike part.  

A small contest

I commonly have problems with bike lust (I don't consider a it a problem or a disease, but my wife does).  Below are some pics of bikes from some of the riders from the UC lunch rides (there are some draper/CC bike(s) too). See if you can name the owners of the bikes.  EMAIL me atomicmiles at gmail.com.  I'll find a prize to the first one who emails me with all the correct answers.  

1.________________

2. _________________

3. _________________

4. ___________________

5. _____________________

6. __________________

7. _________________

8. ________________

9. _________________

10. ________________

11. __________________

12. ____________________

The Whole Enchilada - Video

The Whole Enchilada from atomicmiles on Vimeo.

The Whole Enchilada

Monday, was a day trip to Moab to ride the Whole Enchilada.  Many of you are familiar with Porcupine Rim.  Porcupine is the end of the whole enchilada.  The Whole enchilada has starts at the top of the Lasal Mountains and gives you a full day of descending from 11,000 ft down to 4,000.

I met this fellow at the Porcupine overlook.  He was a nice guy.  I had to use some "stealth spy" skills to snag this sweet photo.  I'll give props to anyone who gets out and rides a bike, but this guy was so fashionable that our group couldn't resist some good pokes - "That body armor will be the last thing that hits the ground" - "That's not body armor, it's a bib" "He ate the whole enchilada" etc....

The ride was spectacular.  From Burro Pass, we dropped down through the pines.

Then we rode through the aspens.

And then the red desert.

Great company.  Tons of fun.  Video on the way.

Pic of the week

Check out this sweet setup.  I tweeted this pic already, but it is such a classic.

South Fork MTB

It has been over two years since I rode South Fork.  Back in 1998-2000, I would ride South Fork often on my GF Sugar 3.  It was a hard ride for me.  Many of the trees along the route have had me stopping and leaning against them while I hyperventilated.

It was fun to ride it this morning w/ Brandon S.  Who knew that he would actually ride as late as 7 am compared to his normal 4:30 am.  Not only was is absolutely beautiful, it was fun to realize that South Fork had become easier.  3 Laps - Great way to start the day.

Summer

Summer from atomicmiles on Vimeo.

LOTOJA wrap up

This will be brief.

This year, LOTOJA was intended to be a race for me, but by the time I reached the first climb, my legs told me that this would be a ride rather than a race. I suffered through the ride.

The Good
Weather was perfect. My parents were an awesome support crew. No mechanical problems with the bike. I finished with my best time. Drafting behind Shaun Bradley for a bit.

The Bad
Rumble strips coming out of nowhere. 35F from Logan to Preston. I didn't make my goal of a sub 10 ride. Limping across the finish line beaten down and wasted.

Time to move on. Lunch rides, night rides, and cross races. I'm ready to ride with friends for fun.

A lotoja letter from Brandon

Here is an email from Brandon.

Miles,

Right now I know you are either traveling, checking in, or lounging around in your hotel room.

Just a few thoughts for your race tomorrow.

1 – Even though I know you just received your new AIR 9 Carbon putting skinning tires on it is not going to help. Although LOTOJA is a fashion show where people like to look cool, nobody there will even know what an AIR 9 Carbon with XX is. Better off to leave it at home even though you can lockout the front fork. This is a road bike race. You are better off riding the Scott.

2 – Don’t try and capture some cool video clips while riding in a pace line. If you forget “Roadies” can have quite the attitude and they just might not like it if you try and ask for them to wait up while you go and stage yourself up the road for a good video clip.

3 – Your wheels are not tubeless so don’t ride over anything you see thinking you are invincible. You will flat and there are no team cars regardless of how good Keith is a being a Team Manager.

4 – Be wary of who you make friends with on the road. Right when you think you are friends and they agree to all stop for that potty break is when they will drop you like a hot potato. There is no regrouping after the climbs/descents like on our lunch rides.

5 – Don’t try and answer your iphone while riding. Once again although mountain bikers have some handling skills and you reaching into your back pocket to pull out something like your iphone will send the peleton into an instant panic, thinking “he is going down. Clear!!”

6 – But most of all remember you signed up for this as FUN, trying to get a better time than last year. Please disregard any bad feelings or memories from the PCP2P.

Good Luck

Brandon

PCP2P Recap

Saturday was the Park City Point 2 Point. I have a lot of jumbled thoughts and memories that I'm still trying to sort. My feelings for the race are just as scrambled.

The race organizers put on a top notch race. I was impressed, especially considering the PCPP is only in its second year. The course was challenging. It was well marked. Aid stations were very well stocked. Pre and post race entertainment, drawings, and food were great. Very well done.

Before the race, I had in my mind a time that I wanted to beat. This was based primarily on what some of the "lunch riders" had done the previous year. I lined myself up accordingly at the start line. I remember hearing Brad K. yelling at the crowd as he sorted himself to a different group "didn't you guys look at the finishing times from last year? Didn't you see how many people finished 10+ hours????" He proved to be correct as the majority of us should have sorted ourselves better.

Round Valley was fun and fast. By the time I reached silver lake lodge at Deer Valley, my bottles were empty. As I started the climb, I started cramping. I was shocked. I wondered why in the world was I cramping so early in the race. I would spend the rest of the day trying to keep the cramping under control. As long as I soft pedaled, I was fine. Anytime I put in a serious effort or put a foot down, I would lock up in pain.

My favorite parts of the course were the flagstaff loop, round valley, and skid row. The parts of pain were John's 99 (which is downhill, but bumpy and technical), the steps, climb up silverlake, and the re-route by Spiro. Check out the picture of Eric B's niner. He finished the race, 18 more miles, with his bike like this.

I would say my deep dark moments came after John's 99, on that lame dirt road and then going up the steps. I was not happy. I was thinking about pulling an Aaron S. and cutting off some of the route. I did run into Brad K. at that point and it was great to hear some words of encouragement from him. It helped me push on.

Some of the best moments were riding with people I know. It was a major boost to morale to ride with people like Jason M., Sam C., Keith P., and Adam L. The Mad Dog support crew was awesome. They had the right balance of taking care of me, but pushing me out of the aid station. It was also great to see Rick and Rico at the PCMR. Here is a link and here to pictures that Rick took at mile 60.

Hands down, the hardest race I have ever done (Take that with a grain of salt--my list of endurance races isn't very long). I am happy w/ my finish of 10:04. I had stop or paused time of 28 min. It was awesome to see people overcoming their pain and pushing through to the finish.

I did ride the new niner. The bike was awesome and performed flawlessly. I'll share more details on the bike later.

The Park City Point 2 Point 2010 from atomicmiles on Vimeo.

A letter to myself

Dear Self:
Hello self, this is your innerself - you know, the voice in your head. We seemed to get past our differences on RAWROD and no doubt, we will have plenty of time to talk to each other on the PCPP. We've never done the Park City Point 2 Point so I thought I would write you this letter to help remind you of a few things for the race. I'm going to call you stupid and remind you of the many of the stupid things you've done in the past so don't let this hurt your feelings

1. Balance. Fight off the desire to take off from the start like a jack rabbit. Obviously, if you do this, you'll blow up. However, also be aware that you need to position yourself in Round Valley. Once you start the climb up skid row, the opportunities to pass are limited. Find the balance of pushing yourself and riding within your limits.

2. Eat & Drink, and then Eat & Drink some more. There is a reason why we have an alarm that goes off every 45 minutes. It's to help you once your reach a stupified state to remember to eat and drink. The temperatures in PC will be moderate and you may not feel like eating or drinking. If you don't, we will pay for it in the latter part of the race.

3. Deep Dark Place. At some point, you will reach a very deep dark place in the ride. Heck, you may be in that place all day long. You will start questioning your intelligence and sanity. You may even have thoughts of quitting. There is no easy way through these dark pits. You will have to push through it remembering that you have trained and are prepared for this race.

5. Throttle Back. About the time you reach Deer Valley, all ability to think clearly will most likely be gone. Don't be stupid and go full throttle on the downhills. This is where you are most likely to wreck. Pull it back a little to ensure you don't eat it and earn a sweet DNF. You wouldn't want to chip a hip or something lame like that?

6. The Carrot. Do remember how towards the end of an endurance race, you start fixating on a simple food that is waiting for you at the finish? Maybe chocolate milk, cherry coke, chicken tenders, watermelon, etc. Figure out what your carrot will be and start dreaming of it.

7. Enjoy the journey. Sounds like an overused motivational poster. However, remember that this is some of the finest singletrack around. It will be easier to tolerate the suffering if you can take in some of the beauty of the area and enjoy the trails.

8. Feed Zones. It is so easy to take a break in the feed zones. The minutes in the feed zones accumulate very quickly. Be aware of this and try to minimize your feed zone time.

Sincerely,

The voice in your head.

PCPP Recon - Round Valley

Let me start out by saying that Park City has some of the most heavenly singletrack I've ever ridden. The abundance of trails and perfect temperatures makes me want to move to PC. Today was the final recon ride prior to the PCPP on Sept. 4. Dave B., Rico, Evil Banks, Derron, and I did the round valley section. We were rained on a few times, but the trails remained in great condition.

Leg 1, Part 1 - Fast Fast Fast. The gradient never gets very steep and for the most part, the trail is buffed and fast. Nothing very technical. Lots of places to pass.

Leg 1, Part 2, (I think its called Skid Row) was some more heavenly singletrack. Rarely do I give props to a climb, but this was a fun fast climb. Passing other riders through this part will be a challenge.

Leg 1 Part 3, I bailed out to get back to home responsibilities, but Rico and Dave made the climb to Silver lake. I had done this part a few weeks ago.

Leg 1 Part 4. I consider this really to be part of Leg 2. The climb up sunset and the rest of Leg 2 is where the elevation gets serious. Leg 1 - Parts 1,2,3 are fast and enjoyable--never any serious climbing.




Update - Still waiting for the Niner. This is like waiting for a kid to be born. Can I give revolution some pitocin? (They are a good bike shop--I'm just impatient.)

Bad Omen

Saturday morning, I found this guy moving slowly across my driveway. I hope this isn't a biker's version of the black cat. STAY AWAY FROM ME SNAILS!!!

Update

While the posting has been spotty, the riding hasn't.

The new bike is sitting at Revolution waiting for the BB30 Bottom Bracket so show. It is killing me. I wanted to have it in plenty of time to dial it in before the PCPP. Hopefully it is ready to go Monday or at the latest Tuesday. Do I still ride the niner in the Point 2 Point if I get it on Friday???

Tour of Utah Stage 2 Nebo

Thursday I took the kids half way up the Nephi side of the Nebo Loop to watch the Tour of Utah come up. Brandon joined in and we strategically picked some switchbacks so we could see them below and above us.

My kids love going to the race. We all were given cow bells, noise makers, powerades, stickers, etc. Plenty of swag-- All before the race even comes by. We, of course, come prepared with some street chalk and have a blast writing messages on the street.

The race was awesome. I love watching the speed of the riders and realize that I would be the first picked up by the broom wagon at the tour riders pace. The other part the I enjoy is bike watching. It's probably more like bike lust. Carbon, carbon, and more carbon.

Short video & pics of the race.

2010 Tour of Utah Stage 2 - Nebo Climb from atomicmiles on Vimeo.

100% luck

I drive a mini cooper and often have my bike(s) on top. Mini car, big bike.

Usually, I park the car outside. Today, as I was running some of the kids around, I thought I'll park in my wife's spot in the garage. As I drove in, SMACK!!!!!!!! I had forgot that my road bike was on top of the mini. Big time sinking feeling in my stomach. As I got out of the car, I saw this mark on the garage entrance.

I then saw that the bike was still on the car. I did a quick check over the bike. Handlebars-in one piece, no sign of damage. Front fork and headset--fine. I hurried and pulled the bike off the car and saw the saddle.

The nose of the saddle had just cleared the entrance of the garage. Scuffs on the saddle were the only damage. Boy, did I get lucky.

There was a bit of minor damage to the bike rack on the car. One of the q clips was bent. A rubber mallet quickly fixed that.

The first time I went by Keith's home, I immediately saw the damage in his stucco above his garage. I now have the bike tattoo on my house (not as severe as Keith's)

On a side note, I'm taking the kids to the Tour of Utah tomorrow. We'll be camped out at the start of the final climb up Nebo. I won't be dressed up in a gilly suit, beard, or dress. Just plain fans.

Strange Things

One thing about going out on the bike is you never know what you are going to see. From wildlife to awesome wrecks, it seems there is always something to see. On a ride last week, I ran into this odd landmark.

Not only had this rock been painted a lovely shade of blue, someone had actually cut a 3 foot wide path through the meadow leading up to the rock. This is the the meadow North of the Dragon's Back spine in Utah County.

Crunch time this week for the PCPP. Following the leadville results has me excited for PCPP and for hopefully getting into Leadville next year. Congrats to those who rode Leadville.

Strawberry Ridge

Another early am ride w/ Brandon this morning. The route was up cottonwood creek, up 2nd water to the strawberry ridge trail. Northward to 5th water trail, and descending down back to the diamond fork parking lot.

Climbing cottonwood creek is one of the my favorite climbs. Although it is located in Utah County, it isn't the typical straight up the hill trail. Gradual rollers lead you up to Rays Valley Road.

With the recent rain, the trails were in near perfect condition on the climb. 2nd water trail, normally a dust path this time of year, was packed and good climbing.

Brandon at the top of 2nd water hooking into Strawberry Ridge.

The descent down 5th water was awesome. There were a few sections of Mud. Brandon, one of the best descenders I know and skilled bike handler, had a few trouble corners with the mud. His front wheel slid out not once, but twice.

There are plenty of cows in the area. Brandon chased a group of ten or so down the 5th water trail.

I will be returning in the near future to do some more riding. Next time, Brandon and I are going to figure out how to incorporate the Center Trail in the loop.

After the rain

Awesome ride this am in American Fork Canyon. Brandon did a good write-up. Here are a few pics.

3 week countdown - Niner Air Carbon

Yes, the PCPP is 3 weeks away. However, that isn't what I'm referring too.

Revolution called yesterday and said they needed a few questions answered. 1. Do I still want the vana white Niner Air Carbon? 2. If I could get the Air Carbon in Tang earlier, would I want it? 3. (less important right now) What do I plan on running for the bottom bracket.

My answers

1. Yes, I still want the bike. 2. Hmmmmmmmm - Hard decision. 3. BB30

Revolution explained that I could have a tang frame in 3 weeks. The whites, because of tons of orders, would come sometime in the future.

I ran up to revolution today and checked out a medium tang that they were building up. The color was awesome in person as the stock photos were less than impressive. After seeing an actual bike, the decision was easy. I switched to the tang.

I've been picking up parts for months for my vana white niner. Now that it is tang, I'd prefer to have a black fork, but have already purchased this white one. Black 29er forks, w/ a tapered steerer, and 9mm drop outs are apparently rare and expensive. I did order one of the niner rigid carbon forks so that I can easily swap between rigid and travel.

With my luck, the niner will show up Monday after the PCPP. That's ok if it does--I'm beyond excited for it.