Courage Classic 2009 - Day 1

I very much enjoyed the Courage Classic. I liked the social aspect of the ride. You could ride as fast or slow as you wanted. It was a nice change from competitive events. I also liked riding for cause, specifically to raise money for Children's Hospital. While donations are typically made before the ride, donations can be given until August 31st. If you would like to make a donation to my ride, you can do so at the following site: http://www.couragetours.com/2009/rdh

The Courage Classic involved three days of riding. On the first day, I rode with a group that include three other Dorsey attorneys: Charlene, Steve and Matt. We were joined by Charlene's fiance Dave and their friends Carlos Sr. and Carlos Jr. We started at Leadville and headed towards Copper Mountain via Vail.

The ride started out with a slight downhill, which was a nice warm up. Soon we were climbing the first pass of the day, Tennessee Pass. This was not too bad as the elevation change is relatively small when riding from Leadville towards Vail. We stopped at the first aid station, which was at the top of Tennessee Pass. The aid stations throughout the ride were superb. Not only did each one have water and Gatorade, they also had bananas, oranges, mini bagels, peanut butter, fig newtons, trail mix, granola bars, and cookies.

After refueling, we descended towards Battle Mountain. Steve, Charlene and Dave quickly dropped me on the descent. They also dropped Matt when he pulled over to put on a jacket. As we approached the bottom of the descent, Matt caught up with me. He raced ahead to catch up with Steve, Charlene, and Dave. I jumped onto his wheel. I was soon regretting that decision since Matt is a strong rider. I was barely staying with him and thinking so much for a comfortable ride. It seemed like forever before we caught up with others just before the climb to Battle Mountain. I was thankful to see them since I couldn't have stayed with Matt much longer.

We started as a group climbing Battle Mountain. In a pattern that would repeat itself, Steve and Matt, who are both very good climbers, soon dropped Dave, Charlene and me. The three of us climbed together to the top of Battle Mountain. At the top, Steve and Matt were waiting. We joined them to take a short break and enjoy the view.

Group Picture at Top of Battle Mountain

After a brief rest at Battle Mountain, we descended towards Vail. Steve and Charlene led the descent. I tried to stay close to them but lost some distance when I had some trouble passing some riders around a tight corner. As the route flattened out, I rode hard to catch up. I eventually rejoined them. Soon Matt caught up with us. Dave also caught up with us as we turned onto the bike path from Minturn to Vail. We rode at a social pace to the aid station at Vail, where we stopped for lunch.

The lunch at Vail was also superb. There was sandwiches (turkey, roast beef or veggie), fruit, potato chips, soup, cookies, candy, ice cream, water, gatorade, and soda. I tried not to eat too much since Vail Pass was still ahead. After taking about a forty-five minute break, we got back on the bikes and headed towards Vail Pass. This part of the ride was hot as the sun was out. We got a good pace line going and steadily passed other riders until I lost my jacket and had to turn around to get it. The rest of group slowed down so that I could catch up with them. Dave told me that I owed the group a round of beers, which I still need to make good on.

As we approached the aid station at the "bottom of Vail Pass," the road began to get noticeably steeper. Steve and Matt again took off. I tried staying with them. As we went through the aid station, I was thankful that we decided to stop. As I got off the bike, I realized that I would probably bonk very badly if I tried to stay with Matt and Steve on the climb to Vail Pass as both were much stronger climbers than me.

At the aid station, we regrouped and headed off again. Soon, Matt and Steve had dropped Charlene, Dave and me. They slowed down to let us catch-up but soon had left us again. We would not see them again until we reached the aid station at Vail Pass. As we rode, Charlene warned me about this crazy uphill that came after a short descend. She was not kidding as I almost did not have a gear that I could turn to get up the hill. Thankfully, the steep part of this section was short.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, I could see the aid station. At the entrance to the aid station, they had hung a banner which read "King of the Mountains." There were also volunteers ringing cowbells. This was a nice touch. At the rest stop, we regrouped and headed out towards Copper Mountain. There was a short climb followed by a welcomed downhill on a bike path that ended at Copper Mountain.

Coming into the Finish Line

Brenda was waiting at the finish line. I was happy to see her. We stuck around at the finish and had an adult beverage with the group, which was a great ending to a fun day of riding.

Matt and Steve relaxing after the ride

Charlene and Steve

Sluggish

Sluggish: averse to activity or exertion. This is how I felt over the last week about workouts as my motivation to do them has been low. The result, I've skipped about half of them this last week.

Why such low enthusiasm to workout? Not sure but it may have something to do with knowing that I'm not planning to race again this year. Since Milkman, I've kind of thought that the race season may be over for me. I was on the fence about Loveland. I ended up doing it because I had already paid the entry fee and needed a workout for the day. Loveland only confirmed in my mind that I have little interest in participating in another race this year.

Another potential issue, the sports medicine doctor who I am seeing has instructed me to avoid high intensity workouts until I see her again. This is most likely precautionary but I plan to follow these orders. So, I will not be doing any speed or other high effort workouts for two weeks.

Despite my recent general adverseness to workouts, Saturday was a good day. Although scheduled to ride for two hours after swimming, I ended up riding for four hours. The extra two hours came when I ran into the 17 hour training group towards the end of my two hour ride. When I saw them in the midst of their 17 hour training day, I made a quick decision to ride up Deer Creek with them. This turned out to be a good decision as riding with group boosted my morale. Even though I was dropped by the main group, I enjoyed going up the canyon at a slow, relaxed pace with Andrea.

Today, I rode an hour with Brenda. This was a fun ride as we took it easy on the Ralston Creek trail. Even better than the ride being relaxing, I got to do it with Brenda. It was nice to ride on two consecutive days with no agenda or plan other than just riding. I could get comfortable with this training with no intensity.

100

Today was another first: a 100 mile bike ride. One hundred miles does not seem like much compared to what others did this week but it was more than enough for me. At Steve's suggestion, I started at about Tower and Colfax and rode East, first on Colfax and then old US 40 to just beyond Deer Trail.

The ride started out well. The route has gently rolling hills that trend downward from Tower to Deer Trail. There was also a slight tailwind, which I knew that I would pay for when I headed back. Best of all, the traffic was light.

I wasn't sure what to expect on the ride so I kept out an eye for gas stations and other potential places to stop to get more water and other supplies. About an hour into the ride, I saw, to my surprise, a rest area. I decided to stop there, use the restrooms, refill my water bottles, and eat some food.

After the brief stop, I continued towards Deer Trail. The scenery was not much to look at, just either flat ground or rolling hills with an occasional tree. Every 12 miles or so, there seemed to be a small town. After I passed though Byers, there was a sign indicating that it was only 12 miles to Deer Trail. I looked at my watch and saw that I was only 30 miles into the ride. This was not good since Brenda was planning to meet me in Deer Trail, which we thought was about the 1/2 point of the ride based on checking the route on Map My Ride. Oops, so much for accuracy.

At Deer Trail, I called Brenda to let her know that I planned to ride another 7 miles up the road to get to 50 and then turn around and meet her in Deer Trail. This turned out to me good since I was more than 1/2 done when I meet Brenda. As I approached Deer Trail, I saw Brenda's car. As I neared the car, Stella, her dog, started to bark. Stella does not like cyclists. She stopped barking when I pulled off my helmet and wanted to be petted, which I did. Brenda gave me more water and some food to eat. While doing this, Stella took advantage of the situation and ate the remaining half of a cinnamon roll that Brenda had purchased. At times, she is too clever for her own good.

For a brief moment, I thought about packing my bike in Brenda's car and catching a ride back to my car. However, I felt good and wanted to ride the full 100. So we parted ways. I promised Brenda that I would call when I got back to my car. Like Loveland, Brenda did not approve of this ride. She was hoping that Mother Nature would bring stormy weather to cut the ride short. Unfortunately for her, it was still sunny with few clouds in the sky so the ride continued.

Shortly after leaving Deer Trail, I found the headwind. It slowed my progress. By about 70 miles, I was ready to be done with the ride. My car, though, was still thirty miles away so I had to keep on riding. Slowly, the miles passed by. Finally, I reached the rest area. Again, I stopped to use the restroom and take in some more water and food. I decided not to refill the water bottles on my bike.

For 80 miles, I had been carrying a third water bottle in my bike jersey. I had not needed to use it since I had been able to refill the bottles on my bike. The weight of the bottle was starting to bother my back. I decided that I would rather carry an empty bottle than a full back up bottle. There was only another 20 miles to ride, and I knew there was a gas station about 10 miles up the road if I needed water.

Off I went. The brief rest seemed to help as I felt better for the first few miles. After about seven miles, the headwind and the generally uphill nature of the route was beating me down again. The next seven or so miles were tough. However, as I approached the end of the ride, I saw in the distance the interchange for I-70 and E470. This seemed to revitalize me as I knew I was close to the end. The last five miles seemed to fly by. When I finished, my watch showed 100.2 miles of riding. I had done it. Not only that, I felt better after the ride than I did yesterday after the swim/run brick, which took about half the time but physically drained me.

While the scenery left a little to be desired and miles 70 to 95 were tough, today was a good training day. I would definitely like more of these and less swim/run sessions. And, before I forget, thanks Brenda for driving out the Deer Trail to bring me food and water and to make sure I was okay.

Sunday Fun in the Mountains

For the third consecutive week, a ride in the mountains was scheduled for Sunday, specifically the City View ride. Unlike the last two weekends, the weather was beautiful today. So nice, I wore just bike shorts and a short-sleeved bike jersey. The nice weather also brought out the cyclists today. Last week, I could have counted the number of riders that I saw riding in Deer Creek Canyon using two hands. Today, I needed a calculator to keep track of the number of riders. Maybe bad weather has its advantages.

Before the ride, I was a little nervous about how my legs would respond. I ran my track workout rather later yesterday so I wasn't sure my legs would be recovered. However, my legs actually felt pretty good. Surprisingly, they seemed to have some power in them. Maybe it was because I slept great last night. I don't know why, but it was the best sleep that I can remember having in the last month or so. It was such a good, deep sleep that I didn't even know that Brenda's dog was barking at the back door at 4:00 am because the cat wanted in the house.

The ride itself was rather uneventful. I practiced riding in the time trial position for some of the climb and descent. I passed some riders on the way up and got passed by two guys. Ugh, I hate getting passed on climbs but both guys were obviously much stronger than me. However, I feel like the bike might be coming around. As evidence, today's ride was the fastest that I've done City View this year. I'm sensing, although I can't explain it, that some breakthroughs may be coming later this year if I continue to trust and execute (as best as I can) the workouts put together by Steve.

Riding Deer Creek

Yesterday, I rode Deer Creek Canyon with Michelle. I would never have thought about riding a bike up a canyon the last day of January. Living in Denver is amazing. During the winter, one day it is below freezing and snowing. A few days later, it is sunny and sixty degrees. Yesterday was one of the sixty degree days.

Michelle showed me the High Grade/City View loop. Last year, I rode up the High Grade side of Deer Creek once but only to just beyond the switchbacks. So after the switchbacks, it was an entirely new ride for me.

Although Michelle warned me about the switchbacks at City View, I was caught a little by surprise by the steepness of them. At one point, I just wanted to get off the bike and walk. However, Michelle encouraged me to push to the top. It was amazing watching her climb. She looked strong and smooth.

The roads were surprising dry for the most part. We took the downhills easy since there was a lot of gravel on the roads. At we were descending, we saw at least three Porsches driving the canyon. It seems like everyone was out enjoying the great weather.

Overall, it was a hard but fun ride. Michelle, thank you for being patient with me and showing me the ride.