Thru Endurance We Conquer!

Two days - two classic rides based on the intel we had. I'm sure there's other, more epic loops we could have done, but  that will come another day. After saying goodbye to Gunnison and the comforts of the KOA, it was time to head up to see the Doctor. Doctor's Park, that is. After parking at the end of the trail, it was time to climb. A nice steady road climb up Spring Creek Canyon gave us plenty of time to scope out possible campsites for the night. Since neither one of us knew what the coming singletrack would be like, we kept the pace easy. Just pedaling, enjoying the quite and the scenery. The road was pretty gentle and we made decent time to the creek crossing. Then came the jeep road climb - a little steeper and a little harder! Without a really good map, we stuck to the main route - even though other trails and roads led temptingly off in other directions. We did to the bonus loop, out overlooking the valley and where the Gunnison spur of the CT headed north. Fun ri...

No Sage... A disappointment yet an opportunity - it all depends on perspective. We choose to make it an opportunity. After all, we've never really gone and played out at Hartman's. It's always been pre-riding for a race, racing or recovery riding after a race. Not this time. We had a long weekend with nothing to do but ride, relax and hang out with friends at the KOA. Of course we did a lap of the 24 hour course - can't go out to Gunnison for weekend and not do a lap for old times sake. I'm going to miss that course. It was always a good test to see how far I've come with my technical riding - from freaking out at the sight of the rocks on Behind the Rocks to this year's perfectly clear run. Even the slab on Rocky Ridge wasn't a struggle this time around. I'm sure we will ride out there plenty more - but never as part of the best mountain bike race at a party.  Of course we will ride out there more! Josho's? Super fun...  Friday was time fo...

Normally, I would be writing up the race report for the 24 Hours in the Sage right now, talking about all the fun times we had racing, the competition, the fire booter and all the other excitement that we came to look forward to during our weekend at the KOA. Well, not this year. Yes, we still went out to Gunnison for some fun times riding at Hartman's Rocks and hanging out at the KOA. But we didn't get to race. The 24 Hours in the Sage was not held this year and more then likely, last year was the final hurrah of that great race. Sage was the most family friendly venue of all the 24 hour races I've done, as well as one of the best courses with something for every kind of rider. Word of mouth alone led to the race filling up for three years in a row. But as people's racing tastes change and events compete on a packed calendar, something's gotta give. Unfortunately for the people registered and ready for the "best 24 hour race at a party" it was 24 Hours in...

Health is the one thing that we shouldn't take for granted but so many do. When everything is going great, we don't even think about what might be lurking around the corner. All it takes is one bug, one bad meal or a mistimed sneeze to turn it all sideways. I learned that the hard way.... After a great weekend in Salida, I was all primed up for a final hard few days before 24 Hours in the Sage. A few hard workouts, some long runs and a long ride. Big plans for some hard days and a nice boost to my fitness. Or so I though. The rumbling in my stomach started Tueday on my run. Wednesday wasn't much better on my long run, but I chalked it up to the heat. Then Thursday hit - I barely made though work. The workout I had planned for Thursday didn't happen as the couch and bathroom were far more appealing. Same thing on Friday - I never strayed from the couch. Called off Saturday since I still wasn't moving from the couch or bathroom. Having not kept a thing down since ...

It's easy to lose focus on the key goals when there's as many distractions out there. Even I get readily distracted by all the cool events available and the chances to explore. I wrote about the running vest Nick had gotten me for my birthday, setting off an entire new spiral of distractions - for things a year away! How would I balance the running and the riding to be able to compete well at all the events next year? What would be the best way to build up my running volume and intensity? I was completely distracted from the events coming up in just a few weeks. And then we went back to Canyon Creek and I realized - yes, building up my running in order to race a 50 miles trail run the right way will take an entire year. But I can't lose focus on the most important things - the races next on the schedule. I still have some big days planned before the 24 Hours in the Sage and there's a lot of prep work to be done. I have to go into the workouts completely f...

No good biking weekend is complete without an adventure. For us, that meant exploring a line on the map and trying to make a different loop in the Monarch area. Part of the ride was a success, but we weren't able to make the connections that we wanted in the beginning. There was some bushwacking and backtracking involved... Once we crested Monarch Pass and got on the Continental Divide Trail (CDT), the adventure really began. Neither one of us knew what to expect from looking at the line on the map the represented the CDT. The first part was straight forward - right across the top of Monarch Mountain Ski area. It was so quiet and empty without the snow and the lifts running - just a few foot prints in the dusty road that will soon become a ski run. It looks a little different without the feet of snow! At the top of one of the lifts at Monarch Mountain I'll be seeing you in the winter time! We stopped for some photos and to eat small snack. Then with the clouds buil...

Another long weekend with no agenda but riding bikes. Okay - that's not quite true. We did want to get one final scouting trip done before September arrives, so we did have an agenda. Friday, that agenda involved loading our bikes up on the shuttle for the Crest run and Saturday there was going to be some hiking... The plan on Friday was take the shuttle to Monarch Pass and ride the entire section of trail back down to Poncha Springs - Monarch Crest, Starvation, Poncha Creek Rd, Silver Creek and Rainbow. I'd planned on about 5:30 based on my time from last year and how long it had taken us to do various chunks of the route. Without the benefit of aid stations, we were fully loaded up with food and water while waiting for the shuttle. It was a small group eagerly waiting for the ride - but mountain biking is a small world! One of the other guys happened to be friends with some of our friends from Colorado Springs and with the Boise group we met through them... Another guy was...