Tuesday, November 14

Riddle

What blows at 60mph and also sucks?A 60mph headwind!Okay so sustained 37mph winds and 60mph gusts are not ideal biking conditions but that didn't really stop me today. I got a nice ride in at lunch, just a little slow. Flats and hills on the outbound leg involved mucho standing but on the way back I was flying. Punctured the front tire on the way out but it sealed itself back up by spraying me with Stan's and all was well. No pressure loss.Plus I wasn't wearing my CU gear Becky :P It is however the only set of matching kit I have. Perhaps 2007 will change that if we get our little team together.After work I came home to grab the HID headlamp and headed off to Marshall Mesa with Marni's blessing. 9 miles on the road on the way there made my hands and feet a little chilly. Temperatures were in the high 30s but at least the squall force winds had died down. The trail was deserted and I made quick work of it aside from figuring out the reroute of the beginning on the Boulder side in the dark. I stopped at the Boulder side trailhead and put on the lobster gloves and ate a pack of Clif Blocks. Black cherry is yum. On the way back up I cleared all the climbs except the big rock up right after the bridge. My feet were reasonably warm until I got back to the road and began to decend. I'd push the climbs to warm them back up. Guess I need to bring some more foot warmth next time. As I rolled past the Wall I still had plenty of time left until my appointed return time. I did what any enduro-nut would do and decended ~0.5 mile off route at 35mph and turned around and climbed back up the Wall, aka the steepest climb anywhere near my house. Even with 2:1 on the SS and 3 hours in my legs the climb felt really good. At the top of the Wall I cruised the 25 minutes back home and changed into the Smartwool old man outfit for the evening. Aside from dinner I've been pretty much seated on the couch with Marni all night, covered in wool and down from head to toe. Tomorrow an easier day on the road bike and hopefully hit up some more offroad trails Thursday night.Marni's got a new blogger layout since apparently she's cool enough to get the new beta and I'm not. :) I especially like her quote at the top Dad. Besides on a bike I'd only be out there for one night probably...

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Little bit crazy down south as well... Tech Center and wind and bicycles not a fun mix!

Anonymous said...

You take awesome pictures from your bike. I'm very impressed! I would tip over trying to do that!

Anonymous said...

This is your base? A lunch ride in 60mph wind AND THEN 3hrs on 2:1 SS gearing?

Chris said...

Not so much base yet. This is still some power building and technique work. Base will probably be January with huge miles but pretty easy. Right now I'm shooting for hard 200-300 miles weeks with lots of off road on the SS to build power.

Anonymous said...

Marni must be much more understanding than my wife, no way could I get away with that kind of schedule. I guess we all do what works for us.

Chris said...

Riding at lunch is key plus my commute. Between that and one long weekend ride I can get 200 miles easy. I like the long night rides but those don't last more than an hour or 2 very long.

Anonymous said...

Just to piggy-back on that comment, I am quite awesome. The best in fact :) Thanks for noticing!

Chris said...

Yes yes she is the best. :) I stupidly forgot that in my comment and of course you can't edit them. So Marni is awesome and she's making me dinner right now while I ride home the long way. Sweet!

Anonymous said...

I just got finished reading the latest blogs. I wanted to let you know, Chris, that there is going to be a self-supported race on the moon late in 2007 or early in 2008. Have you read about this yet? Trek is working on a special moon bike called the Crator. There is no seat on this bike because one of the requirements of the moon race is that you must stand the entire length of the ride. However, I think you only go around the moon once, so it is doable. There may also be some special equipment required, but I'm pretty sure you can get a deal from NASA. If I find out anything else on this one, I'll email it to you. Can't wait to see you guys soon!!!!