Vacation Ride Reports

While on vacation we were able to get in some great rides.  The tick list included Teton Pass area where we rode Black Canyon...then we moved on towards Jackson where we rode around the Cache Creek area and then our last day of riding in the area was at Shadow Mtn.

Each of the rides had very particular characteristics that made them sufficiently different from each other which made it really fun...

onto the rides...

Targhee:

Erin took advantage of the Pierre's Hole race flagging on the course in order to ride the fun part of the course the next day on Sunday.  She rode the upper singletrack loop that meandered through Aspens and had great views of the west side of the Tetons.  She then linked that up to the downhill of Mill Creek and enjoyed around 1,800 ft of descent!  It actually worked out pretty well that the course flagging was still up as it was an easy way to cruise the course and not worry about being on the correct trails..

Black Canyon Ride Report:

Profile...around 17 miles with about 3,500 ft of elevation gain

We got a detailed topo map from a store in Driggs and used that as our baseline and planning for the week as it had a suggested ride list as well as camping listings.  As it turns out the map was a little out-dated and we would find that out the hard way in the Teton Pass area.  One of the suggested rides listed had a trail description starting from a certain point...the problem was that it showed the start area in a different area...so the ride description and the visual did not synch up.  It took me about 45 minutes to get oriented until I found the right access to get to the top of Black Canyon.  It took some re-tracing of around 500 ft of climbing that we warmed up on and then diverted into a section of the Arrow trail that essentially paralleled the dirt road I climbed up on...I even looked at the trail map they had listed and tried to connect between my older map and what they had listed at the trial-head.  As it turns out one of the trails listed was now closed to mountain bikes and open to horses only.  The nice thing was that they also had trails that were mountain bike only trails in order to avoid user conflicts.

The legs felt OK considering the recent carnage from Pierre's a couple of days preceding.

Once back on track, The climb up took us through the old Hwy (closed to motorized vehicles) and then linked into singletrack for the last 1,000 ft of climbing.  Once cresting at around 9,000 ft, there were some great views the were about 180 view of the east side of the Tetons...  The area must have had a ton of moisture because the wildflowers were as tall as I was in some areas and the trail was overflowing with wildflowers such that they would hit me as I went by.

The riding was a lot of fun and I found myself stopping frequently to take pictures of the great views.  The singletrack quickly lost elevation but you still felt like you got a ton of great riding in as the 2,500+ ft descent gave you ample time to enjoy the descending and take in the views.  You had to stay on alert as there were a couple of sections that came out of nowhere and surprised you with drop offs and rutted areas that would knock you off your bike if you were not paying attention (which was easy to do given the views).  

The wildflowers had passed their peak bloom but you could just how big they got this year.  There were a couple of times when the plants hit my upper body hard enough to make me wince a little.  There were points where the trail was so overgrown that you could not see more than about 10 ft in front of you.  It made the descent pretty exciting...

Once you finished the descent, it was time to grind up the old Hwy back up to where the car was...on the way, there was a nice little pond if you wanted to take a breather...no time for me though...kept moving along on the steepness of a hill in the mid-day heat....needed to get back so the wifer could go on her ride and I could look after the pups....at this point the dogs still had a fair amount of energy but they too were starting to dig into their reserves.

In order to minimize the climbing for the wifer, I planned on meeting her at the bottom of the Black Canyon descent so that she would not have to grind the last several hundred feet of climbing back to the car.  As I was going downhill from the Pass I saw the following:

This was a runaway ramp for downhill truckers who lost their brakes and needed to bail...I have seen these in many states, but what threw me a curveball was that the ramp is on the opposite side of the road so the runaway truck would theoretically have to cross oncoming uphill traffic in order to hit the ramp....mannnn ohhhhhh mannnn, I would not want to be that uphill traffic if I saw that runaway truck going the opposite direction.  The topper was that there was not one, but two of these opposite side ramps going downhill...Crikey!

As the wifer got back to the truck and we were loading up the truck, we met this interesting cat (no pun intended)...he must have been socially starved because he talked our ear off.  One of the more notable things about him was that he kept telling us of how he had domesticated a mountain lion...interesting feller for sure!  He started off the conversation by asking to borrow my cell phone to call someone (after he had just popped open a Coors light tall boy)...fortunately he could not remember the # so it was a moot point but it started off as awkward from the start.

It was one of those weird conversations where both the wifer and I were looking for a polite way to excuse ourselves from the conversation but we never had a moment to interject an excuse to bail.  After about 15 minutes of being conversation-napped, the wifer was able to say that she was hungry and we needed to go find food.  By the time we excused ourselves we had learned way too much about him...

Since this is turning into an epic entry, I will shut it down and include the Cache Creek area ride report and Shadow Mtn ride on the next update....time to get back to work!

Just The Bare/Bear Facts

We took the week off and got to explore a little around the Tetons...we drove to Targhee on Friday night...camped out at the resort in prep for the Pierre's Hole 50...

During the week long trip, we hit up Driggs (ID), Victor (ID), Wilson (WY), and Jackson (WY).  We rode in Targhee, rode Teton Pass area, and also rode around Jackson for a couple of days.  We climbed for a 1/2 day in Darby Canyon (just south of Driggs) on some short limestone cliffs that looked and climbed on the chossy side.  You could visibly see where holds had fallen off.

We also managed to get a nice hike in up Teton Valley up towards Devil's Staircase....we got rained on a bunch one night (snowed up higher that evening as the temps dropped).

We camped in multiple spots on both the east and west side of the Tetons...Targhee, Teton Pass, Teton Valley, Jackson area...We liked the west side better as it was a full on Disney-esque experience as soon as we hit the east side and rolled into Jackson - we could get out of town proper fast enough....whilst on the trip we saw things we don't usually get to see everyday : bear, moose, bison, bear, elk, bear, bear, bear, and ohhhh, did I forget to mention BEAR?

The re-occurring theme seemed to be bears, bears, and bears!  Our first encounter was when we headed over to Atherton Lake campground and shortly after we arrived the unofficial camp know-it-all came over to let us know there was some bear activity...by the time he rolled around, we had already been approached by about 3 different people at our campsite because our campsite had the best view of the foraging bears that were just on the other side of the road up higher on the gulch.  As it turns out, there were 3 black bears poking around about 150 yards above us.

We decided to err on the side of caution by not cooking (despite the wifer's insistance) that night and having the bear spray and car key/alarm on hand just in case they decided to meander and explore into our camp.  It was a rather restless night with the mind on acute alert for any suspicious sounds throughout the night.  I woke up several times with the car alarm in hand in case we needed to scare them off with the panic button.  As it turns out they left the camp alone (or were very commando and un-noticed).

It turns out that would be the first of multiple bear stories along the trip...that day we rode over by Snow Lion Mtn in Jackson where there is a good trail network.  The wifer and I took turns riding so one of us could hang with the dogs while the other rode...then flip flopped so we would both be able to ride....not to go into too much detail (more ride reports and pix to follow in subsequent blog updates) but I saw what appeared to be a grizz at a fair distance up the canyon on my ride and the wifer ran into a lady who said she had just seen a small black bear during her ride. 

Because we did not get enough of being scared and terrified by bears, we returned to the scene of the of the prior night's camp to witness more bear'ish buffoonery....We decided to again take the prudent route and not cook...no reason to tempt fate (although you could argue we were by returning) - the night was quite enough but the following morning treated us to those same bears poking around just above the campground...they were maybe 30 yards from where we had set up camp the night before.  It was neat to watch them from a distance but a little nervy to think about how close they might have been during the night....I could have sworn that I heard some footsteps in our camp that night and they darted into the bushes when I rustled around inside the tent...I did not think much of it during the night but it really made me wonder upon seeing those black furry critters so close the next morning.  It is a good thing we had been camping for a few days by now and our body odor probably deterred them from getting too close!

The next morning. we packed up and headed over to Shadow Mtn to ride where someone had warned us there was a lot of bear activity in the area.  We carried bear spray and talked/yelled/whistled while riding so as to not surprise the bears in the woods.  The wifer took her turn first then I did my loop when she got back...between the time she rode and the time I rode a bear had dropped a fresh dookie right in the middle of the singletrack!!!

All in all it was fun to explore a new area...we met a dude named Wally (think that was his name) who was quite the character...among the most notable things about him was that he had at one point tried to domesticate a mountain lion...he told us of the declawing at birth and how they could not trust it around kids or scared folks or else instinct might get the better of the kitty...

specific ride details upcoming with pix...

Pierre's Hole 50 Race Report

A week ago today, I was suffering through another hot day on the bike...what is it with endurance mountain bike events and heat?  I have lucked into finding hot weather regardless of event...weahhhh weahhhh.  I heard reports of low 90's at the lowest point of the race...not fun, especially when riding on asphalt for a few miles.

It was a good event though with a good showing from all the local hard-men/women of the area.  It is pretty funny but we are now getting more looped into the 'scene' and running into more and more familiar faces each time out to these suffer-fests.  The scene is such a great scene in the sense that everyone seems super friendly and very supportive.  The events are not really 'competitive' in nature only because you are really racing at your own pace (unless you are a freak of nature and can race these events).

The course profile was as follows:

I was not exactly tapered for this event as I had put in two long back to back rides on Sun/Mon prior to race day....then again, it was on the agenda as a fun ride and not as a ride to hammer....Sean O from Butte also made it down although he made a wise choice and decided to ride gears.

heading into the final 7 mile loop of the first 25 mile loop

The course included between 8,000-9,000 ft of elevation gain over the full course and generally felt like a pretty fast course.  It was not ideal for a single speed set up as there were 3-4 mile climbs on paved road where it would have been nice to be able to push some big gears...although those moments  made it a  great time to fuel up and re-load for the upcoming climbs.  There was also a steep & punchy climb coming out of aid station 1 that was just mean to single-speeders.  

There were 2 aid stations - roughly about 12 1/2 miles apart which worked out well.  Hammer was there and provided bottle swaps at the aid stations so all you had to do was roll in, ask for Water, Heed, or Perpetuem and they would just swap your bottles out for you.  It was easy in, easy out.  Apparently I was still a little dehydrated as I started to cramp the last 7 miles of the race (a not so uncommon theme for many others thanks to the heat)

at the finish

The course proper was a 25 mile course.  There was a shortie start loop that was intended to spread everyone out before the first long downhill section...it was very successful in jacking up my heart rate to around 170!!!  My red-line threshold is around 165 so I was pinned right off the bat and it stayed there for about 20 minutes until we hit that downhill...WOW! Once the start loop was behind us it was on to a really fun downhill on Mill Creek trail where it dumped you on the dirt road where you linked into the paved road climb...the climb was about a 900 ft climb and then you hung a louie onto some double track descent which was scary fast!!!  but FUN!  At the bottom of the descent you hit the first aid station and prepped yourself for the long grinder climb of about 1,500 ft back towards the starting area where you linked a really fun 7 mile loop of single track that took you back to the  starting line.

It took me 5:47 on the singlespeed and there were some hike a bike sections on that steep climb out of aid station 1 (Bustle Creek)...ouchie mama

The race swag was great...it included a hat for finishing, a tech t-shirt, a pair of socks, and a beer mug!!  The beer mug was promptly put to use later that evening with the meal and brew that were provided as part of the entry fees.

The area is amazing!  There is some great scenery with some really good riding all over the place.  It is accessed via Driggs (Idaho) and you can see the Tetons from the lesser common west-side which provide great views and really good access via the Targhee National Forest.  The town of Driggs is small (population 1,100) but it has some good options for eateries which include good Thai and some great Oriental/Fusion...mmm .mmmm.mmmmmmm

Later in the week, while on vacation, I picked up the local Jackson newspaper and there was a picture of the race start on the front page!  It featured Rebecca Rusch but you can see my mug in there too...Rebecca crushed the race...she did it in 4:32...which was good enough for a 3rd overall finish (inlcuding the men).  She rode really strong considering the week prior she put in a huge effort to set the new Leadville 100 mtb women's race record.

more on the vacation and pix to come on upcoming blog posts...

Targhee & Vacation

We are heading down to Targhee tonight...The Pierre's Hole 50/100 is tomorrow and I could not resist signing up for the 50.  It looks like a tough course with about 4,500 ft of elevation gain over each 25 mile lap.  The 50 milers will do 2 laps for a total elevation gain of around 9,000ft and the hundies will be doing 4....The singlespeed bike is all clean and ready to dish out some pain (to me) tomorrow.  I anticipate some hike a bike sections on the singlespeed as I head there are some steep, punchy climbs...come on legs!

It will be interesting to see how the legs react after not doing anything too hard core since the Puff...If nothing else, it will be great to ride in a new area.  The race will be in Alta, Wy, on the east side of the Tetons so the scenery and surrounding areas should be really fun to explore.

Next week is a vacation week and we are planning on staying in the area to do more riding and get some climbing in too.  I am curious to see what the area has to offer and it will really good to get unplugged from work for a week.  Our prior road trips have always been shackled by taking along my work computer and trying to work while squeezing in some fun when possible.  This will be a true vacation for me!

If the Teton Valley area does not offer enough to do, we will have plenty of options close by to explore!

Toll Fish Toll Ride Report

Tuesday was a rest day relative to pedaling, however we did make it up to Homestake Pass for some bouldering action.  The skin was a little tender on the digits but it just means the callouses are on their way!  Woohoo!

I got warmed up on the mothership boulder on a nice V2 that traverses from right to left on a big rail.  The decomposing granite boulders are always a little exciting because they tend to be loose with lots of stuff falling off...in the process of traversing, sand came off the rail and showered me in my face, etc...always a little weird to have sand coming off as you climb...made it a point to have very precise movement with no dynamic lunges that would put extra stress on the holds.  As it is, you can see a couple of places where holds have come off.

After warming up, it was time to get on the proj.  I got through the crux on three different times but did not have enough go go juice to finish up business...my endurance is lacking...slowly but surely....It is a great line and will be worthy of the work going into it once sent (hopefully soon).  The movement is pretty cool with a sit start on a couple of finger flakes and a left heel hook...you pull up to a leftie crimper, bump up to a rail and then flag super hard to bring the right hand up...then the clock starts to tick tock as you work you way along the rail and top out like a beached whale...

Wednesday ended up being a rather busy day although I was able to squeeze in a quick ride up Toll Canyon, down Fish Creek that ties back into Toll Canyon, then back up Toll Canyon switchbacks and down the CDT to the car.  It is a lollipop loop but super fun and relatively fast. 

It was my first time back on the singlespeed in a couple of weeks and the legs felt surprisingly decent.  The singlespeed steed has decided to make things difficult as of late by being testy with the rear tire (someone suggested a non UST, or tubeless, tire and the problem was that it would not seal on to the rim). 

For the non riders out there, a tubeless tire is just like your car tire in the sense that there is no inner tube.  I have been riding tubeless for the past 4 yrs and have had very few issues.  The idea behind tubeless tires is that you essentially eliminate flats since it is usually your inner tube that gets punctured.  As part of the tubeless system, there is an option to add sealant which essentially seals any leaky areas with a silicone liquid goo stuff.  The other great benefit to a tubeless system is that you can run a much softer tire pressure and that ends up giving much better traction and better rolling resistance.  I was pretty skeptical until I made the switch and have been amazed by how effective the tubeless system is.

Burton Park Loop Ride/Climb Report

I decided to knock off work a tad early yesterday and was able to get rolling on the bike by 5 p.m.  The gameplan was to go up to Burton Park, catch the CDT and do some scouting for bouldering along the way.  I took a small day pack this time and packed my climbing shoes, chalk, and a toothbrush for some heavy duty boulder cleaning (ha!). 
The ride itself was very enjoyable...The ride ended up being around 24 miles with around 3,000 ft of climbing - ride profile below:

It was a mellow climb up to Burton Park where I hooked into the CDT.  As usual it is a good idea to stop or slow down to take in the views.  Once you crested the hill and gained access to the CDT proper there was a great view of the Pintlers in the distance.  As I got closer to the trail-head I could see sunlight poking through lots of little holes on the sign.  The sign indicated no motorized vehicles and apparently some local must have taken exception to the sign and used it as target practice.  The absurdity of it all is that the moto's have thousands (not exaggerating) of miles of trails available to them locally but that does not prevent them from poaching nice pristine CDT singletrack...ahh yes, the forbidden fruit

The viewpoint from the trailhead is pretty cool because you can look west towards the Pintlers, or if you look East, you have a great view of the Highlands and have a somewhat close look at the lookout up on the Highlands.  It is always a little crazy to think that these are only about 15 miles due south of Butte...clear as day from Butte and always a treat to get into the playground. 

I usually tend to err on the side of caution when going out riding (especially in the backcountry), and this time I was tempting fate all too much...I broke some of my own rules along the way...

Rule #1:  Always carry tools in case you need to do some trailside maint.....I had no device to pump up a tire in event of flat...I realized that my saddlebag opened up yet again on the Curly Lake ride and subsequently my multi-tool and my CO2 cartridge adaptor to inflate my tires also fell out...I realized this once I started to ride so did not have time to pack a hand pump either...

Rule #2:  Always take a cell-phone with you...I had the cellie but the batteries were on the low side...had to turn the phone off in case I would need it later

Rule #3: Never boulder without a spotter or at min a crash pad....I had my shoes and chalk...no pad no spotter

In order to break all of my cardinal rules above, I needed to find some rock...The first boulder that caught my eye was right off the trail and was begging to be climbed.

I put up a few quick lines and ended up finding plenty of loose rock to explode off.  The most notable toss was when I was working the line on the right and my right hand suddenly broke off a part of the mini jug I was on and subsequently sent my body flying backwards landing flat on my back...spotter would have been good!  After that I was a little more cautious to make sure to clean any loose rock as best as possible...although that right hand felt solid...
After climbing our that rock, I moved along and stopped by the boulder I had originally had on the radar.  Unfortunately the rock was a little more rotten than what it looked like and although it had some good friction it was crumbly...with the recent back flip of the prior rock I decided it was a good idea to not tempt fate too much so I opted to just walk around a little and do more scouting....

All in all it ended up being a good day.  I got in a 3 hour ride which followed the 4 hour Curly Lake ride on Sunday.  The legs are a little heavy today but not too bad considering.  It has been a little weird to be riding the full squish as of late but it has been fun.  Unfortunately my singlespeed bike is riding the pine until I can get a new valve stem for my tubeless setup.  The valve stem on my rear wheel is leaking beyond repair so I am waiting for parts to come in to get it all Humpy Dumpty'ed back together again.  In the interim I will keep finding all the squeaky pivots on the full squish.

Homestake Bouldering & Curly Lake Riding

Kick Butt Weekend!!!!  We (wifer and I) went up to Homestake Pass and had fun partaking in the Butte Bouldering Bash on Saturday.  I had no idea there were big boulders hidden back there!  Very very very cool.  It is in our extended back yard and I look forward to busting up there after work and getting some good sessions in.  I surprised myself with how long we were able to climb.  We ended up out there for about 4-5 hours which is pretty remarkable considering the lack of climbing.  I was very close to sending a V5 (sent a V4 on my second burn) so it must mean the grades are soft!!!  None the less it is awesome to have some back yardigans!

speaking of back yards.....we (once again the wifer and I)  made a trip out to the Tobacco Root Mountains on Sunday and did the Curly Lake ride...wow...wow...WOW!  It is by far the best mountain bike ride I have been on while here in Montana.  The scenery was unbelievable - very different than the next range over which is where the CDT is.  It was about a 25 mile mountain bike ride with about 5 K of elevation where we peaked at about 10,000ft.  There was a little bit of everything - some steep climbing, some tekkie climbing, some buff climbing, some high alititude climbing, some buff descent, some steep descent, some rocky tekkie descent...there was a little sum'n sum'n for everyone...there was some blood, there was some sweat, and yes there were even some tears (not really but it makes for good diatribe).  The wifer did well until she got tired and decided to get up close and personal with a few rocks on a switchback...All in all it was a great day...instead of trying to wax poetic about it, I will just let the pix do the blah blah blahing....

profile looked something like:

the start...gradual climbing on dirt road

view from the first meadow at around 7,000 ft

Curly Lake

more climbing....up above Curly Lake

Spectacular views but still more climbing awaited

shua is purdy

self portrait at about 9,000 ft

junction to head up to the saddle...we could see the Highlands, Pintlers, Whitehall...coolio

The wifer looking a wee bit tired...only another 700 ft of climbing left until the Highpoint!

the view just don't ever get old - there is Curly Lake at the bottom of the pic

the wifer hanging tough...close to the highpoint

way cooooolllll JR

that there looks like snow at 10,000 ft in August!

the wifer cresting at 10,000 ft

and now for the descent!!!

we get to ride all the way back down!

all sorts of terrain including nice smooth buff singletrack....and the fun continues!

getting towards the end...all good things must come to an end....

Frisbee Golf

Wednesday was a fine rest day from a workout perspective.  It was good to just take the day off and let the body heal a little.  The afternoon thunderstorms rolled as usual but then it cleared up enough later to be able to take the dogs out.

We went up to Thompson Park and part of my agenda was to scope out potential rock for bouldering.  As we pulled up I saw a couple of trucks parked and the guys were letting their dogs out and getting ready to head out.  As we pulled up, the dogs did their sniffer greetings...I noticed one of the guys had a golf frisbee in hand and I asked if they were getting ready to play a round.  They responded that they were and that part of the work the work going on in Thompson Park included setting up some legitimate baskets for the frisbee golf.  It is great to see Thompson Park getting some love.  It is a neat area with a ton of outdoor space and it has access to a ton of stuff (including gateway access to some newer trails that link into CDT).

The dogs and I had a good time exploring and Otis was in rare form sniffing and being on full alert.  On our way back to the car Otis stopped in his tracks, looked up hill, started to wag his tail and was very focused.  I noticed that his hair was standing up and I tracked to where he was looking but could not find anything at all.  It is a weird sensation to know that there is something there but you can't spot it (and you know it sees you).  We kept walking and I kept looking up...the dogs also were very focused on the uphill side of the road.  At one point I heard what sounded like a moose and then heard some scrambling on what sounded like some small boulders.  The mystery animal disappeared (although I suppose the pre-req to that would be to appear so maybe it is all a moot point of semantics!)

We got back to the car, loaded up and headed home.  On the way back I spotted what looked like a fox scurry across the road.  It was either a fox or a coyote but it was definitely a little strange to see it go across Hwy 2...it was one of those great moments where you realize you are the only person who saw it and mother nature just let you glimpse into her wonder-land.

As for the rock - there is some potential...looking forward to heading back for more recon...

Ride The Lightning

As the work day wrapped up yesterday I looked East and the skies looked clear with a few thin clouds lurking.  Looking SouthWest however, the sky looked very menacing and the afternoon thunderstorms looked like they were bound for Butte, but would skirt the CDT trails and passes in the area.

I rushed up to Homestake Pass, pulled out the bike and noticed that the sky was turning dark (so much for my theory of the storms missing that part of the country).  Not to be deterred I quickly hopped on the bike and decided I would turn around should the skies start to impose themselves.  It had been a long week and the mental catharsis was sorely needed!

As I started to climb up to the scenic point I noticed that the sky had a few breaks and jusssssst maybe I would get lucky and the storm would miss what was on my riding agenda....rode to the first lookout and motored on by...made it to the 2nd lookout...kept on truckin'....made it to the hightpoint and 3rd lookout and could see that Butte was enveloped in a heavy rain/storm!  It was time to point the bike downhill and get back to the car!  About 30 seconds after making the decision to head back and right before hitting the first switchback (50 yards from the turn-around point), I saw the first strike and heard the first thunder clap!  DOH, time to high-tail it back.  The switchbacks went by quickly and the race to get back to the car was ON.  It was about 5 miles to get back to the car and in normal circumstances that downhill would only take about 15 minutes...but twas' not to be a normal day.

About 1/2 way back the sky got really angry and it really started to unload with lightning, thunder and hard rain.  The lightning was way too close for comfort.  There were a couple of times when I heard the thunder as I saw the lightning simultaneously.  That is definitely the closest I have ever been to lightning and there was some pucker factor going on.  It cooled off quickly and it was raining so hard that the trails became instant little rivers.  I had to take the riding glasses off because it was impossible to see with the downpour.   There was some extra caution on the way down as there are several sections where you ride through, around, over rock and I knew full well that touching my brakes while going through those wet rock sections would put me on my butt with a mouthful of mud.  It was an exciting ride back to the car and I have never been so wet on a ride...ever!  I got home and it took about 45 minutes for my hands to thaw out...they had gotten numb from the cold and it was good to feel the tingling sensation as they warmed back up.

It was a shortie 1 hour ride but it will definitely be etched in my memory for a while.

Un-Learning the Mash

My legs felt surprisingly good during Saturday's ride and as a follow up with training I decided to try and change my cadence for the better.  I tend to be a bit of a masher (slow cadence pushing a big gear) on the pedals which is great for shorter efforts but it is hard to maintain that kind of power / effort for longer rides.  There are many other variables in training but this and the power to weight ratio are probably the two biggest opportunities for improvement with me.

My natural comfort cadence zone (or learned is more apt) is around 70-75 rpm's.  All recent research shows that you should be in the 85-90 range...meaning you are pushing an easier gear but spinning the legs faster (essentially putting out the same power as if you were pushing a harder gear at a slower cadence).  It is a really difficult habit to break as you end up resorting back to your habits when tired.  On long endurance events it really is much more beneficial to train the heart to work under load as opposed to the legs because your legs will wear out faster.  Regardless, the legs will always get worked but with a higher cadence the theory is you won't have to go into the reserve as fast (as long as you keep the efforts mostly aerobic and don't go into the red zone relative to your heart rate).  All this to say, that I spent an hour on the indoor trainer trying to maintain an 85 rpm cadence.

Indoor trainer? summer?  yup yup....unfortunately our weather pattern as of late has been nice sunny days and then the afternoon thunderstorms build and the skies let loose with thunder and rain (and an occasional hail storm).

It will take some persistence to change my cadence as there will be two challenges to overcome....the first will be that as a singlespeeder, you are often forced to a slower cadence as the terrain determines the speed at which your legs spin...this single-speed mentality will be a hard one to break...the other challenge is trying to teach an old dog a new trick...as I would sometimes tell the Masters swim team when I coached them 'if you have had a bad habit for 10 yrs, it might take 10 yrs to un-learn it'.  Changing a swimmer's technique who has been doing something in-efficiently for years can often take a long time to change.  The above statement is probably a little over the top but it does ring somewhat true in the sense that it takes time to change and it becomes more of a challenge when tired as we just revert to our hard-wired tendencies until we re-wire.

As for climbing.....I managed to hit the garage for a good bouldering sesh this morning and I can slowly start to feel the powa' coming back (still have a ways to go but small victories are still a step in the right direction!).  The session lasted a little longer today as the muscles and tendons start to wake up from the climbing hibernation of 2 + yrs!  I was able to link up more moves on each burn and session was also longer...all the while noticing some moves are getting slightly easier.  I will take that kind of progress (albeit slow) any day....

Weekend Shenannigans

It was a very busy and fruitful weekend in Montana.  This was an especially important weekend for a couple of great friends from Denver who came to Montana and tied the knot!  I have to admit that the phrase 'tying the knot' is like the phrase 'to hell in a handbasket'....essplain yourself you say......ok ok, the clarification on the above sentence is that they are only similar in the sense that I have no idea of their origin.  Neither one of the phrases seem to make any logical sense, although I can make a much better symbolic association with the 'tying the knot' phrase as it could imply being tied together in a gesture of unity? 

Nate's pop lives in Helena so he and his bride Rowena came up to Helena to tie said proverbial knot!  We were fortunate enough to be invited to dinner on Saturday night and then to the official event and lunch.  Both meals were a test of will in trying to control the appetite...or the classic case of the eyes are bigger than the stomach!  Nate and Row had a wonderful and intimate ceremony on his dad's property and it was followed up with a decadent meal that included a Lechon!!! mmm mmm good.  For those not able to partake in the meal...just visualize a 12 hr full pig roast...where are the pictures???  We remembered to take our camera but forgot to load the SD card so when I was ready to start snapping I got a little error message reminding me the memory was full - and there continues our legacy of poor form regarding pictures...

One of the great peripheral bennies of weddings is seeing familiar faces that you don't get to see every day.  We got to catch up with the H&H Atlanta gang and in tribute to Harley and Holly I say 'What Would Roger Do?'   All in all it was a great couple of days and we feel fortunate to have been part of this special day. 

In prep for the over-indulgences of Saturday evening and Sunday, I decided it would behoove me to get my ride ON!  The singlespeed fatty came out of the garage and I went out to 9 mile, parked and started the journey...it ended up being a 32 mile ride, with 4,700 ft of vert gain...the 4 hours of therapy did wonders in getting the head screwed back on properly!  Along the way, I stopped and took a pic of the Highlands that still has a sliver or two of snow on it!  Soon enough it will not be last winter's snow but will probably be the upcoming winter's snow...I am not ready for that possibility quite yet but we do live in Montana and that could really happen...in August!

Along the way, I ran into a group of ladies on their mules cruising along the CDT.  I made sure to announce myself so as not to alarm them or the mules...did not need a runaway mule to contend with.  I also paid particular attention to the rock and had to stop and look and what looked like a great bouldering line.  The only minor obstacle is that the only way to access it is via bike or hike and it is a roughly 5 mile journey from either direction...I did briefly think of trying to ride with a bouldering pad on the back and quickly remembered that riding that trail is hard enough let alone with a square shaped parachute strapped on your back,,,maybe just take the shoes...who needs pads?  OK DAN, DON'T ANSWER THAT!!!

As usual, I spotted a ton of rock but access, or rather, the long approach is probably not conducive to easy reconning action...Everything was uber green and it almost looked like spring in some areas.  We continue to have a wet summer (which is great for the lawn and mushrooms growing in it - but not so good if you are not a fan of pesky little bugs).  The net of the ride is the fatty tire and I went up Thompson Park to Herman Gulch to Burton Park down to Basin Creek via CDT, back over to Herman Gulch and down Thompson Park again.  If you are not local then all this all jibberish but given the reader base (totalling Erin and I), there seems to be little risk in boring none other than ourselves!