I Love Snow

I'm not even being sarcastic. I LOVE SNOW. So many people are poo-pooing the snow, and yes, it does keep me off my bike a bit, but think of all the other opportunities it presents. This weekend, for example, I plan to head out to Whitegrass in West Virginia to try out some backcountry skiing. Talk about a workout... try skinning up a mountain.

Photo stolen from the Whitegrass web site.

All of this is preparation for another trip out to Colorado where I will attempt to summit and ski Mount Elbert (or possibly another 14er if Elbert's snowpack isn't good). Actually, I'm a bit perturbed at the lack of snow the east coast has had over the last several years. The last really good snow year I remember is winter 2002/2003. And this year, the best snow has happened when I was out of town. The December 19th storm hit when I was in Colorado where they had NO snow. It was the first time I've ever come home to colder temps and more white stuff. This last storm I was in Alabama. They had rain down there and it shut down schools and the government. I was pretty amused.

This weekend I will be here so bring it on! Show me the pow-pow!

As a side note, I recently purchased some studded tires for my cross bike. These things are great. I've only had a chance to ride them a hand full of times but when I do I look for ice and snow to ride over to test their limits. No crashes yet. I guess my point is... if you want to ride outside, you will find a way. And winter mountain biking is the best.

New team website and blog

Check them out here:

CAWES p/b Specialized website

CAWES p/b Specialized blog

Mt Bierstadt 12/18/2009

I've decided to bring this blog out of hibernation. I stopped blogging because I felt I had nothing to add to the blog-o-sphere, and while that still may be the case, my mother has threatened to join Facebook in order to keep up with my activities if I didn't update this thing more often. So here it is... a bit late... but my first blog of 2010. And it's not about the bike! It's my trip report from my 40th birthday adventure, a hike up to the 14,060' summit of Mt Bierstadt.

I had been wanting to get back into climbing/mountaineering for a while. Last year it seems the bike always got in the way, but I'm not going to let that happen again. So with the big 4-oh coming up I decided to head out to Colorado, visit Ken and Laura, and attempt a 14er while out there. I chose Bierstadt because it's a fairly simple "winter" climb. I say winter, but since we climbed on Dec 18, it was not a calendar winter climb and therefore does not count as a true winter summit. Anyway, Bierstadt... relatively straightforward route with low to no avy danger... maybe the non-technical nature of this route lulled us into a false sense of security. Read on.

I researched the route we would be taking (the West Slopes) and noted that the Guanella Pass road to the trailhead was closed on one side of the pass due to rock fall, and that the other side (the one we wanted to take) was closed as well, but less than 2 miles from the trailhead. I mentioned this to my climbing partners but, and here is mistake number 1, NONE OF US DECIDED TO LOOK IT UP. We assumed the pass would be open from Georgetown so at 4:30am on Friday we set off and over 2 hours later we arrive at a road closure less than 1 mile up the Guanella Pass road. A construction dude working there said "Ain't nothing getting thru, not even on foot." Well damn. We had driven to the wrong side of the pass.

We decided to drive another 2 hours, around the base of the mountain, retracing our route all the way back to Denver, just to check out the other side of the pass. That way, we thought, we'd have an idea of where to go the next day, because that was now the plan... to climb tomorrow. We get to Grant and then decide to drive all the way up the pass road to locate the trailhead. When we got there the peak looked sooooo gorgeous off in the distance and it was a beautiful day and, well, mistake number 2, even though we were over 2 hours late from our intended start time, WE DECIDED TO TRY TO SUMMIT ANYWAY KNOWING FULL WELL THAT IT MIGHT BE DARK TOWARDS THE END OF OUR HIKE.

We park, get geared up and set off up the road past the closure. It's absurd that they have this road closed. It would have been perfectly passable by a 2WD vehicle.

Ken and I in the distance hiking the 1.5 miles of road before the TH.

Knowing that I am the weak link of this trio I have the mindset of "I cannot stop for anything. I will eat and drink on the move. Must get up the mountain." This was working well, for oh, the first 2 miles when my water froze because mistake number 3, I FORGOT TO TUCK MY HYDRATION BLADDER HOSE INTO MY PACK. It was frozen solid leaving me without water. Thankfully Sonja had an extra Nalgene bottle that she would share with me.

Ken and I hiking thru the willows.

I would keep on hiking everytime Sonja and Ken stopped to eat or drink, grabbing a sip of water from Sonja on my way thru. When Sonja would catch back up to me, I'd grab another sip of water and keep moving while she rested. This worked well except for the fact that I (mistake number 4) WAS NOT DRINKING NEARLY ENOUGH WATER.

The trail was boot-packed pretty much the entire way up to the ridge.

Ken aka Mountain Man.

At some point during the hike, Ken had to turn around due to hip pain. I was unaware that he retreated but when Sonja came up once again and told me, we decided to push for the summit even though I was starting to get poopy pants. It didn't help when Sonja and I took different paths (further up the mountain the trail is harder to find) and she insisted that I cross a snow and ice field to come over to her because "the trail's right in front of me." Bull shit! I was standing next to a 10 ft cairn but she could not/would not be convinced otherwise. I (mistake number 5) STUPIDLY WENT OFF TRAIL TO TRAVERSE OVER TO SONJA. That traverse had me wishing for my crampons that I had left in the car.

Once I connected with Sonja and we tried to ascend her route things went downhill quickly, both for my mood and the way I was feeling physically. I was really getting irritated now and decided to traverse back over to where I had been before listing to the "siren of the mountains." Sonja agreed and followed me. Once there, the rest of the hike was fairly simple, even though I was starting to feel worse.

Ascending the ridge.

Along the ridge before the final summit push.

The final bit of climbing before reaching the summit.

Finally at the top of Mt Bierstadt. That's Mt Evans in the background (of the Mt Evans Hill Climb Road Race.)

Once at the top I took a minute to take in the view, but really only a minute because I looked at my watch and realized we needed to get down fast. I did not want to be hiking thru the willows at night. I rushed down as fast as I could, but still was not eating or drinking nearly enough. By this point Sonja's water had frozen and every time I tried to eat it just turned into paste in my mouth.

Descending the route.

Me with the setting sun.

The final photo because it got dark soon after this was taken.

Our speedy descent had us at the trailhead just as it got dark, but with the full moon, we left the headlamps in the packs for the 2 mile hike on the road. We were so tired, hungry, and cold that we just wanted to get back to Ken and the car and didn't feel like stopping for anything, not even to put on our down jackets. I swore that I was getting frostnip on my arms at this point (not my hands though because I was wearing my BD Mercury mitts. They are The Bomb!) since the temps dropped fast and significantly once the sun set.

We finally made it back to the car which Ken had heated up for us, and then the 2 hour drive back to Ken and Laura's house where Laura had prepared homemade enchiladas. What a way to end the day!

Since this adventure I've invested in 2 large Nalgene bottles, one insulated cover for one of the bottles, and a thermos (thanks to Ken and Laura for that!). I've also vowed to THOROUGHLY research not only the route but trailhead status before my next mountain adventure.

Thanks Ken, Laura, and Sonja for making my 40th birthday a thing to remember. (I'm not going to blog about Cripple Creek. We'll keep that between us. Remember, what happens in Cripple Creek stays in Cripple Creek!)

New blog colors must mean...

new team? Not this time! The team formerly known as CycleLife Powered By Specialzed has new sponsors and a new look. All those rumors about our demise are just that. Rumors! Look for the official announcement soon but let me be the first to say THANKS Specialized for your continued support of this team, and also a huge THANK YOU to Conte's Bikes. We look forward to our partnership with you in the new year.

Weekend Wrap

Briefly, Sara won the Cat 3 Crit Championship Saturday and LJ won the Dawg Dayz Circuit Race Sunday. Hopefully someone will write race reports over on the team blog. Thankfully I don't have to because frankly I suck and was not a factor in either race. I would however like to point out the fact that the Cat 3 crit champion has been on my team for 2 years now... last year Harlow, this year Sara. I admittedly had nothing to do with either win. Hell, last year I didn't even race it. Big thanks to Joe Jefferson for putting on a great event. I loved the new course, just sorry I didn't get a chance to show it how much I loved it.

Sunday's Dawg Dayz was another fantastic race. Great venue (including lakes for dogs to swim in), great course, great food. Thanks to Evelyn and her Artemis crew and also to the Bike Rack.

The scariest part of the day for me occurred when I was taking Evelyn's dog Bud for a swim. He reluctantly came with me down to the lake, but once we got there tricked me into thinking he wanted to go swimming. I took his leash off, he looked at me as if to say "sucker" then bolted back up to Ev, cutting the race course in the process. THANK DOG the peloton was not coming thru or it could have been ugly.

And now for my post-race report, because we all know that's where the true action is.


Amanda came over to celebrate her 30th birthday (belated) and her 3rd place finish in Sunday's race. She also taught me that you can order pizza online. Who knew? The less personal contact the better, right? Now if only they could somehow automate the delivery I wouldn't have to deal with anyone.


The party moved downstairs after the pizza arrived to watch Le Tour and chit chat. Azucar was happy because she could now sleep on the sofa. She had a rough day at the races, swimming for over 3 hours and stealing Christine W's chocolate chip cookies. Such a hard life for a dog.


And finally, Sonja successfully removed her stitches!

Time for a Folder?

A couple of weeks ago I had a run-in with a pathlete on East Capitol Street. Yes, I still refer to them as pathletes even when they are not on the bike path. I mentioned my story to some teammates and friends but failed to blog about it because, well, I was just too embarrassed to let people know that I had it handed to me by a senior citizen on a folding bike.

I was commuting home after what I'm sure was a rather intense workout session at Hains Point when the aforementioned pathlete cut me off at a red light (I had the green). I did not take too kindly to this and decided to "show him who's boss" by passing him within inches and powering off down East Cap. Only it didn't quite happen like that. I did pass him, but he got on my wheel. Keep in mind, this dude was probably old enough to be my grandfather (remember, I'm from Alabama and they have 'em young down there) AND he was on a folding bike. Not only did he manage to hold my wheel, he actually had the nerve to pass me, and by the looks of him, he was not hurting at all. I, on the other hand, was in a world of hurt. Thankfully, he made a left turn while I went straight and continued on my way home, albeit with the proverbial tail between the legs.

Fast forward a couple of weeks and I'm on my way to the Conte's Tuesday night hill ride. A couple of blocks from work I'm approached by a guy on a folding bike. He wants to know how to get to the bike path. As I'm giving him directions he asks if I'm heading that way, which I was. He then states that he'll just follow me. "Great!" I think sarcastically to myself, although getting a good look at the dude, he looked pretty fit. I went my normal commuting pace which is not fast but not slow either. I get him to the bike path and I guess I'm going too slow for him because he passes me. I think no way and I going to let this happen again so I get on his wheel and wind up drafting him the entire way to my turn, and he was not going easy. It was a struggle to keep up with him on some of the short climbs on the Custis. As I turned off on Quincy, he continued on to the W&OD trail because he wanted to get in a couple of hours. At this point I had actually asked him if he wanted to come and do the hill ride. I really had no doubt he could keep up.

Last night I once again ran into someone on a folder, although she had on Capri's and was carrying a pocketbook so she presented no competition (or maybe she did but didn't care). I asked her about the bike and she informed me that she had just gotten it but loves it. She told me about how nice it was to be able to carry it on the Metro, into her office, and that she's only had to lock it up once.

So what's the point of this blog? I guess I don't really have one. Except this whole folding bike thing fascinates me. I know there's an entire subculture of folders up in Philly. When they used to have the Manayunk Hill Climb Time Trial they even had a folder class. I'm not going to run out and get one, but think maybe they'd be a good commuting option for some. They are certainly fast enough. I have tried having a dedicated commuting bike but it just doesn't work for me since I ride to work, then directly to Hains or Arlington or wherever to do my workouts in the evenings. However, if and when I give up this whole racing business I just may have to consider one of these.

Wanted

If anyone sees this woman please let me know. She ripped my legs off last night and I want them back.


But really it's my own fault. My coach tells me that I need a break from "structured training" and need to start reducing my time on the bike so that I can begin my build-up for cross in a few weeks. And what do I do? I decide to do my first Goon Ride. It's not "structured," right? It was, however, one of the hardest group rides I've ever done. From what I understand someone named Bax was pushing the pace. Thanks to all the guys that gave me a wheel and shouted encouragement. I somehow made it to Ross Drive, at which point I wanted to pass out. Thankfully, Erin, Brig, and Steven wanted to head home so I was spared any more hills and a bit of dignity, that is, until they dropped me on RCP. No Erin, I didn't have a flat. I had two! :-)

Poolesville RR, Reston Crit, and New Bike Update

Thanks to Jen C I finally have that Poolesville win.

Overall it was a fine weekend of racing for CycleLife Powered By Specialized. I won the Poolesville Road Race; Robin got 3rd at the Reston Crit with a fine leadout by Sara Z (who still managed a 5th place finish), LJ scored a silver medal and Sonja pulled in a bronze in their respective categories at the Masters Nats Road Race in Louisville.

Not one to write race reports I'll just say this about Poolesville. Jen C led me to the gravel perfectly and I attacked on the third lap bringing Harlow with me. We bridged up to NCVC's Beth who had rolled off the front prior to the gravel. Harlow was not feeling well and had to pull herself out of the break and Beth and I worked well together to get a minute lead on the chase. She was an awesome break partner and I look forward to racing with her again.

On another note: Do Jen C and I really look anything at all alike? I've got at least 10 pounds on her and am not Asian. I only ask because when she violated the yellow line rule during the race, I was the one called out by the moto ref and asked to move to the back of the pack. Then when I was in the break, all the roadguards were yelling "Go Jen!" Beth even asked, "You're not Jen, right?" It all was quite amusing.

At Reston my legs were tired. Not tired enough that it was an overly difficult race, just too tired to do anything other than sit in. I still managed 7th overall coming in on Jen Max's wheel as we were pretty much the last 2 standing after a massive crash on the last lap. We had no hope of catching the group of five up ahead as we were gapped off from the crash so we just rolled in. I was fine with that as I was pretty apathetic about the whole race. I never once made an appearance on the front, never once attacked, never once reeled in an attack. I was just happy to finish with the pack on lead lap which is a first for me at Reston.

And finally an update on the new bike. The parts are ordered and should be in the shop. I'm just waiting on the call to bring the frame in to have it built up. SRAM Red with Nokon cables with white housing. Should look pretty sweet.

Something to make me laugh and something to make me smile

I was looking for something to make me laugh yesterday and decided to look up some video of one of my favorite SNL skits, Debbie Downer. Go ahead. Watch it. Try not to laugh.



In other news, I received my new super secret bike frame yesterday. I am grinning ear to ear. More on the bike later.

Numbers

14 road races already in the books
Approx. 25 more road races on my schedule
15 cross races on my schedule, not including Mercer Cup and Nationals
111 days until my cross season begins

Can you tell what’s on my mind? 111 days. I’m already looking at wheels and tubies for the upcoming season. Sadly I had to retire my tubies from last season but I did manage to get 2 (TWO!) full cross seasons out of them. I put some slicks on my cross bike last night so I can start commuting to work on it. I know I’m not the only one. I’ve been reading blogs and Facebook status updates and can see the current swelling. People are starting to have dreams about cross, starting to think about practice at Fort Reno, starting to talk equipment.

In the meantime I’ve been enjoying the road. I do love racing my bike on pavement, but something about racing cross just makes me smile. I’ll be racing with the big girls this year so I expect that smile will be masking quite a bit of pain, but I will still be smiling. One thing I noticed is that every single picture of me racing my road bike… I am not smiling. In fact I am sneering, grimacing, snarling, you name it. But pictures of me racing cross… I am smiling (or at the very least don’t look like I’m about to kill someone) even though I am sure the amount of pain I am in at the moment is almost unbearable.

Last weekend I went down to the Clarendon Cup to watch the elite CycleLife gals race. LJ and Sonja rocked with top 10 finishes. Mitch and Mel were also in the $$$. Hopefully someone will write a race report here. This weekend I am heading up to Philly to watch them race the Liberty Cup. I may be helping out in the feed zone, but if not, I will probably be hanging out at The Wall or on Lemon Hill. I love this race. In fact, it’s probably the only race which makes me want to one day upgrade on the road to a Cat 2. One day… but for now I’ve got 111 days on my mind.