I Rode My Bike Today...

Ebruner said:
Not today, but this last saturday... I did the counting coup event. I've wanted to do it for years, but never had the fitness, spine health or the drive to make it happen. I've been doing lots of big rides this year and training harder then I have in the last decade and figured, what the heck, might as well do it.

My friend and I started at 5:30 am. I started slow and rode to the doppler ball with my buddy at a pace well under what I would have done if running solo. It was obvious his qty of desired breaks and overall pace was going to be very different then mine so we went on our own ways from there. Conditions were amazing, we had marine layer that was at the height of the doppler ball until well into 10am. The ride from the doppler ball to motorway was sunny but still on the cooler side for main divide. I traded back and forth with a few of the fast peeps along the way trading faster descents (me) for their faster climbing pace.

Dropped into motorway and had a nice run, ended up in the 3 times down motorway (according to strava) for the day. Half way down motorway the marine layer showed up again. I scarfed down some pizza, at the bottom of maple springs and headed up towards the peak. I was able to hammer away at the peak climb and next thing I knew after dodging all of the bro-dozers doing their own saturday baja run, I was at 4 corners. There I ate some smoked salmon and rice balls and walked around in circles for a minute before heading off to the peak. I was a bit in the pain cave at this point, but my body felt great so I started pushing the pace again leading up to the peak. The descent down from the peak was awesome and once again according to strava I had the 5th fastest time down HJ for the day.

Overall, and I rarely say this about myself or my performance on the bike, I crushed it. I vastly exceeded my expectations and managed to set PRs on this ride despite it being the longest/hardest ride I've ever done. I didn't have any cramping issues, despite getting a bit on the backside of hydration and nutrition at one point on the ride. Overall, it's a great route that I will for sure do again... but i'll wait until the gate is closed.

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This should have its own RR!
 
Ebruner said:
Not today, but this last saturday... I did the counting coup event. I've wanted to do it for years, but never had the fitness, spine health or the drive to make it happen. I've been doing lots of big rides this year and training harder then I have in the last decade and figured, what the heck, might as well do it.

My friend and I started at 5:30 am. I started slow and rode to the doppler ball with my buddy at a pace well under what I would have done if running solo. It was obvious his qty of desired breaks and overall pace was going to be very different then mine so we went on our own ways from there. Conditions were amazing, we had marine layer that was at the height of the doppler ball until well into 10am. The ride from the doppler ball to motorway was sunny but still on the cooler side for main divide. I traded back and forth with a few of the fast peeps along the way trading faster descents (me) for their faster climbing pace.

Dropped into motorway and had a nice run, ended up in the 3 times down motorway (according to strava) for the day. Half way down motorway the marine layer showed up again. I scarfed down some pizza, at the bottom of maple springs and headed up towards the peak. I was able to hammer away at the peak climb and next thing I knew after dodging all of the bro-dozers doing their own saturday baja run, I was at 4 corners. There I ate some smoked salmon and rice balls and walked around in circles for a minute before heading off to the peak. I was a bit in the pain cave at this point, but my body felt great so I started pushing the pace again leading up to the peak. The descent down from the peak was awesome and once again according to strava I had the 5th fastest time down HJ for the day.

Overall, and I rarely say this about myself or my performance on the bike, I crushed it. I vastly exceeded my expectations and managed to set PRs on this ride despite it being the longest/hardest ride I've ever done. I didn't have any cramping issues, despite getting a bit on the backside of hydration and nutrition at one point on the ride. Overall, it's a great route that I will for sure do again... but i'll wait until the gate is closed.

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That's friggin' awesome Erik! And yes - well worth its own RR - nothing mundane about this accomplishment!

However, it does remind me of the good ol' IMTB days when some of the former IMTB stalwarts would routinely post their 6000-10,000' of climbing in a day. :confused:
 
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Ebruner said:
Not today, but this last saturday... I did the counting coup event. I've wanted to do it for years, but never had the fitness, spine health or the drive to make it happen. I've been doing lots of big rides this year and training harder then I have in the last decade and figured, what the heck, might as well do it.

My friend and I started at 5:30 am. I started slow and rode to the doppler ball with my buddy at a pace well under what I would have done if running solo. It was obvious his qty of desired breaks and overall pace was going to be very different then mine so we went on our own ways from there. Conditions were amazing, we had marine layer that was at the height of the doppler ball until well into 10am. The ride from the doppler ball to motorway was sunny but still on the cooler side for main divide. I traded back and forth with a few of the fast peeps along the way trading faster descents (me) for their faster climbing pace.

Dropped into motorway and had a nice run, ended up in the 3 times down motorway (according to strava) for the day. Half way down motorway the marine layer showed up again. I scarfed down some pizza, at the bottom of maple springs and headed up towards the peak. I was able to hammer away at the peak climb and next thing I knew after dodging all of the bro-dozers doing their own saturday baja run, I was at 4 corners. There I ate some smoked salmon and rice balls and walked around in circles for a minute before heading off to the peak. I was a bit in the pain cave at this point, but my body felt great so I started pushing the pace again leading up to the peak. The descent down from the peak was awesome and once again according to strava I had the 5th fastest time down HJ for the day.

Overall, and I rarely say this about myself or my performance on the bike, I crushed it. I vastly exceeded my expectations and managed to set PRs on this ride despite it being the longest/hardest ride I've ever done. I didn't have any cramping issues, despite getting a bit on the backside of hydration and nutrition at one point on the ride. Overall, it's a great route that I will for sure do again... but i'll wait until the gate is closed.

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Fantastic job.
I've always wanted to do that, but knew that I couldn't as a race. It would take me 6 months to prep to just ride and complete it, but that would be too much work.
I wonder if Adam Naz. did this..
 
Riding with the little woman.
https://strava.app.link/lfp001UCnKb

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Yah buddy you killed it!
congrats!

Ebruner said:
Not today, but this last saturday... I did the counting coup event. I've wanted to do it for years, but never had the fitness, spine health or the drive to make it happen. I've been doing lots of big rides this year and training harder then I have in the last decade and figured, what the heck, might as well do it.

My friend and I started at 5:30 am. I started slow and rode to the doppler ball with my buddy at a pace well under what I would have done if running solo. It was obvious his qty of desired breaks and overall pace was going to be very different then mine so we went on our own ways from there. Conditions were amazing, we had marine layer that was at the height of the doppler ball until well into 10am. The ride from the doppler ball to motorway was sunny but still on the cooler side for main divide. I traded back and forth with a few of the fast peeps along the way trading faster descents (me) for their faster climbing pace.

Dropped into motorway and had a nice run, ended up in the 3 times down motorway (according to strava) for the day. Half way down motorway the marine layer showed up again. I scarfed down some pizza, at the bottom of maple springs and headed up towards the peak. I was able to hammer away at the peak climb and next thing I knew after dodging all of the bro-dozers doing their own saturday baja run, I was at 4 corners. There I ate some smoked salmon and rice balls and walked around in circles for a minute before heading off to the peak. I was a bit in the pain cave at this point, but my body felt great so I started pushing the pace again leading up to the peak. The descent down from the peak was awesome and once again according to strava I had the 5th fastest time down HJ for the day.

Overall, and I rarely say this about myself or my performance on the bike, I crushed it. I vastly exceeded my expectations and managed to set PRs on this ride despite it being the longest/hardest ride I've ever done. I didn't have any cramping issues, despite getting a bit on the backside of hydration and nutrition at one point on the ride. Overall, it's a great route that I will for sure do again... but i'll wait until the gate is closed.

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I was hoping to make it to Inspiration Point today but I started way too late and by the time I topped out on LSM and rolled over to the railway ruins, it was already 94F. :eek:

Couple that with the insane flies buzzing me endlessly, and I decided to call it a short one today. The climb up was crowded for a week day. But the roll back down was all but empty (insert halo wearing emoji here). ;)

5.36 miles, 1050' gain. :gag:

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SnakeCharmer said:
I was hoping to make it to Inspiration Point today but I started way too late and by the time I topped out on LSM and rolled over to the railway ruins, it was already 94F. :eek:

Couple that with the insane flies buzzing me endlessly, and I decided to call it a short one today. The climb up was crowded for a week day. But the roll back down was all but empty (insert halo wearing emoji here). ;)

5.36 miles, 1050' gain. :gag:

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Pfft.. Not even 100 degrees.
 
Runs with Scissors said:
Pfft.. Not even 100 degrees.
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In my case, that's not as funny as it sounds. I guess I had too many heat stokes in my youth because I am now clinically "allergic to heat". If I'm out in the direct sun on a very hot day for more than a couple of minutes, I may start seeing stars. Oddly, it's not as bad if I keep moving. It happens if I am stationary for a few minutes or longer. It sucks. My days of sunbathing or being out at an outdoor concert in daylight during the warm season, are long gone. I actually start to feel uncomfortable at 75-80F. I am happiest at 50-60F. I'm a So Cal Winter person. o_O
 
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SnakeCharmer said:
I was hoping to make it to Inspiration Point today but I started way too late and by the time I topped out on LSM and rolled over to the railway ruins, it was already 94F. :eek:

Couple that with the insane flies buzzing me endlessly, and I decided to call it a short one today. The climb up was crowded for a week day. But the roll back down was all but empty (insert halo wearing emoji here). ;)

5.36 miles, 1050' gain. :gag:

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I've been hearing about flies! Time to bust out the bug net!
 
SnakeCharmer said:
I was hoping to make it to Inspiration Point today but I started way too late and by the time I topped out on LSM and rolled over to the railway ruins, it was already 94F. :eek:

Couple that with the insane flies buzzing me endlessly, and I decided to call it a short one today. The climb up was crowded for a week day. But the roll back down was all but empty (insert halo wearing emoji here). ;)

5.36 miles, 1050' gain. :gag:

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That's a pretty stout climb in so few miles.
 
Grabbed what turned out to be a giant stinging nettle that was dangling over the trail at face height. Had what felt like acid burning my finger tips for 12 hours. Thankfully, it is gone this morning. Uneventful ride otherwise. New brake pads are bedded in and working well with all the ups and downs.
 
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blixet said:
Grabbed what turned out to be a giant stinging nettle that was dangle over the trail at face height. Had what felt like acid burning my finger tips for 12 hours. Thankfully, it is gone this morning. Uneventful ride otherwise. New brake pads are bedded in and working well with all the ups and downs.
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We also have a few varieties of Scorpionweed weed here which is in the nettles family of plants. It's everywhere right now. Purple-blue flowers for the more common taller variety and white flowers for the less common shorter variety. Luckily, we don't have the nasty variety that is out in AZ. That stuff will make you want to die if it gets you good. It's like being hit by Poodle Dog bush, which is also in the nettles plant family.
 
SnakeCharmer said:
We also have a few varieties of Scorpionweed weed here which is in the nettles family of plants. It's everywhere right now. Purple-blue flowers for the more common taller variety and white flowers for the less common shorter variety. Luckily, we don't have the nasty variety that is out in AZ. That stuff will make you want to die if it gets you good. It's like being hit by Poodle Dog bush, which is also in the nettles plant family.
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PlantCharmer!?!?;)
 
Another Saturday, another Whiting-STT-Luge-Whiting figure 8.

Sunny - but not too hot. Probably in the 70s most of the way with some 80s to finish.

And for the third time in three tries, it took everything I had to complete the intended route. Absolutely exhausted when I finished - like dizzy and about to fall over exhausted. This time I don't have nutrition to blame. I had a bit of breakfast and a double dose of Skratch. I had a few Clif blocks along the way and 3/4 of a Clif Bar before heading down to Cooks from the bottom of the Luge. I had a little bit of water left when I finished. I made a point to stay ahead of the need by drinking before I was thirsty, and having Clif blocks before I felt any weakness or hunger creeping in. Maybe that was enough to help me finish, but I sure don't feel like my former self. I used to knock out this ride without thinking about it - certainly without keeling over.

Still - it was great to get out there. Oh - I forgot my bell today (it was on my Revel). I must say, I rather enjoyed the silent bike. I did startle a couple of humans though, despite yelling "bike coming" in blind spots where I assumed there may be hikers. One group on Borrego lined up single file on the side of the trail and applauded as I went by!

No STRAVA segments worth mentioning. 15.8 mi 2335' as usual.
 
herzalot said:
Another Saturday, another Whiting-STT-Luge-Whiting figure 8.

Sunny - but not too hot. Probably in the 70s most of the way with some 80s to finish.

And for the third time in three tries, it took everything I had to complete the intended route. Absolutely exhausted when I finished - like dizzy and about to fall over exhausted. This time I don't have nutrition to blame. I had a bit of breakfast and a double dose of Skratch. I had a few Clif blocks along the way and 3/4 of a Clif Bar before heading down to Cooks from the bottom of the Luge. I had a little bit of water left when I finished. I made a point to stay ahead of the need by drinking before I was thirsty, and having Clif blocks before I felt any weakness or hunger creeping in. Maybe that was enough to help me finish, but I sure don't feel like my former self. I used to knock out this ride without thinking about it - certainly without keeling over.

Still - it was great to get out there. Oh - I forgot my bell today (it was on my Revel). I must say, I rather enjoyed the silent bike. I did startle a couple of humans though, despite yelling "bike coming" in blind spots where I assumed there may be hikers. One group on Borrego lined up single file on the side of the trail and applauded as I went by!

No STRAVA segments worth mentioning. 15.8 mi 2335' as usual.
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See @NinjaDon ? He started about 7am
 
Well it only took me a month and a half but I managed to ride my bike again. I was supposed to ride it yesterday but life got in the way as it does so much right now (things have sucked).
But everything else be buggared today because if things don't go well in the next few weeks today was literally my last chance to ride with the prof as he heads for Whistler for the summer and I await my fate at the hands of the USCIS.
So Blackstar it was. Since it was Blackstar, the resident expert @mtnbikej turned up (yeah I'd crashed their ride) but he was polite and let me join in. It was actually nice and cool for the first 30 minutes but after that the rest of the ride was somewhere between baking and hellishly hot. Lots of people out, you know its a popular spot when the juice cart is set up at the gate before 8am.
The mens retreat were in fine form at their new pad before we turned the corner for the climb up the hill.
There was definitely some joviality and banter on the way up the hill. But the heat was taking its toll. We made Beeks in one piece and encountered a fine red rattler not long after. Someone decided we should head out to Sierra. I started wishing I'd bought more than a single bottle of water.
The ride out to Sierra is interesting these days. Mostly cos of the crazies pitching their sites off the side along the way. One decided we looked suspicious enough to warrant sending up a drone just in case. (riding with the prof will do that, he's a seriously dodgy dude). I'd thought there was something wrong with my brakes
First time ever down booby trap on the way back. That little trail has some potential if you can take the time to learn it! Right now, a bit dry and dusty (sketchy is fun but)

We dodged the indoor people at the bottom and made it back to the trucks in one piece. A glorious morning with some of the best. Hoping its not another month and a half before I can do this again.
 
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