Monday June 14th, 2010

Today's ride was just a quickie after work. I am very pleased that our house is just a few pedal strokes away from the Bear Creek Trail. This is a main trail that will connect me to most any other trail I want to get to in the metro area! Today was the first nice day in a a while (we've had a lot of rain) so the path was very busy, but was still able to get in around 12.5 miles in under an hour, including a hill climb. I headed down to Bear Creek Lake Park and happened to met up with another rider (who appeared to be far more skilled than me) and wanted to cruise together for a while. Of course, this happened just before a decent climb. Now, I couldn't let it show that this was only my second ride of the season and I had to keep up with him at a good pace which was a little rough being that this was my first attempt at anything that resembled a hill this year. Not to mention he wanted to carry on a conversation while I was huffing my lungs out... but, I did it!! Good pace, good conversation and all! However, my legs are now reminding me of this lovely conversation! :)

Ride Stats:

Distance: 12.44 miles
Time: 53 minutes
Challenge: Not much of one beside first minor climb of season!

I'm trying out a few different apps on my phone to track my rides and create maps... we'll see how they work.

Saturday, June 5th, 2010

Ok, so biking season started a little later than usual this year for me, but life has just been a little crazy up until now. Although my regular blog has fallen by the wayside, I'm hoping to still keep up with the biking blog just so that I can help track my rides. New this year, the biking blog will include mountain bike rides!! Kevin's parents brought us some bikes from Sports Rack in Marquette last September. We got to use them in Moab, but didn't have much of a chance to use them after that. So, this summer's riding will be on more than just pavement for me! Hopefully once Kevin's ankle heals, we will be able to mountain bike ride together!!! (can't wait!)

My original plan for this summer was to get in two "big" rides. I'm not sure if I will be able to get to that goal with my late start and all, but we will see. They probably won't be organized rides, but still hope to hit some of the mountain passes again.

Today, Chad Hooper and I headed out for a relatively easy ride - a good one for the first ride of the year. We started at the Hooper's house and headed toward Cherry Creek Reservoir on the Highline Canal and Cherry Creek bike trails. We did two laps around the park, then headed back. Beautiful morning for a ride... minus the wind in some areas!

Ride Stats:
**Updated: Chad has a nifty app on his iPhone that tracks the ride with all of the info along with the maps!! Neat!!!**

Distance: 25.4 mi
Time: 1 hr 45 min
Total Elevation Change: 1,860

Here's to another great summer of riding! Cheers!

Saturday August 1st, 2009: The Copper Triangle

Well, this is what I had worked up to all summer... The Copper Triangle. This is a charity ride that Benefits the Davis Phinney foundation for Parkinson's disease. I'll be honest, my nerves in the days leading up to this were on high! I didn't fully know what to expect and was fearful of not being able to finish. However, nerves quickly turned in to adrenaline and the rest is history! :)

I always think of great and wonderful things to say in my blog postings while I'm on my bike, but then quickly forget them once I get off. I'll try to summarize :)

We started at about 6:23am... about 45 minutes or so after we had originally planned. No worries though, we were still in a pretty good pack of people (3200 people participated in the ride). The temperature was FREEZING at 40 degrees and got chillier as we climbed up the first pass, Fremont Pass. Once the sun peaked out over the mtns, it warmed up a little and our blood was pumping also. Although, I was pretty sure that my toes were going to be black when/if I pulled my shoes off! :)

Our first aid station was 11 miles in at the top of Fremont Pass. Wow... what a well supported ride... there was water, cytomax, bagels, fruit, energy bars, cookies, crackers, etc. along with medical support and bike mechanics. This was the case for each rest/aid station. It was always nice to pull up to that... and friendly people working the stations too!

Next was the downhill on the back side of Fremont Pass in to Leadville. I LOVE downhills, but when it is only in the 40s and you are in the shade of the mtns... it is really, really, really, chilly!!! I was shivering on my bike and pushing just that much harder to get myself to the sunny spots! Max speed on this downhill was 40.3mph.

The cruise then had us turn right before Leadville to head west on highway 24. This had some beautiful views as this area is filled with some of Colorado's highest peaks. The sun was up but still casting some awesome shadows on the mountains and valleys. A nice cruise for sure. The temperature was starting to warm up now and was probably in the 50s or so.

Rest stop #2 was on top of Tennessee pass. A healthy climb, but fairly gradual. Sat for a little while refueling, bathroom break, and just general people watching. I was wondering how much the bikes standing up next to me cost... my guess... well over $7,000 each... if not plenty more!

The next stretch between here and the next aid station was a long one, but mostly downhill. Max speed on this downhill and for the day was 40.7mph!! I did get a kick out of breaking the speed limit for cars (25mph) going around a turn at 35mph with a state trooper on a motorcycle next to me. :) It was fun! State Troopers patroled the entire route on both motorcycles and vehicles to be sure that both the cars and bikers were staying in check. It is always a good thing for the bikers to remind them to stay in single file (unless passing) on highways without shoulders. People forget that a lot and it is really frustrating because they give the rest of us bikers a bad name!

The next rest/aid station was in West Vail. Here, more than anything, I was mentally preparing myself for the final climb of the day... Vail Pass. I was very thankful that I had done the Pass from this direction two weeks ago. It isn't an overly difficult pass, but when you are starting it after already having done 58 miles for the day, it will take whatever you have left out of you! So, after some more Hammer Gel, water, and fruit, I pressed on...

The next rest/aid station was near the bottom of where the climb actually started (we had to ride through Vail first - kudos to the police officers that manned each intersection for us). I really didn't want to stop because of the incline that we were stopping on, but figured one last refuel probably would be a good idea. I then continued on my way, counting down the miles to the top, fearing the imfamous "Dip". I made it through the Dip without stopping, dodging the people who were walking it and the tourists that ride down the pass (they get a ride to the top, sissies!!!). I was pretty spent at this point, but new that I was almost done and the last downhill in to Copper Mountain was going to be a great reward! And that it was!

Mom and Tomba were waiting for me at the finish line. The finish line was in the Village of Copper Mountain and it was great to be cheered in as the goal was met! I did it... all 78 miles and 5,981ft of elevation gain! I would be lying if I said I wasn't damn proud of myself and had to fight back the tears of joy to avoid looking silly! What an accomplishment!!

So how am I going to top this next year... we'll have to wait and see!

More pics here: http://picasaweb.google.com/mtatzmann/CopperTriangle#

Ride Stats:

Distance: 78 miles

Time: 8 hours total including rests and breaks

Elevation gain: 5,981ft

Max Speed: 40.7mph

Challenge: Overcoming the mental block of being able to complete this!

Goal: To enjoy nice short recreational rides for the rest of the summer... stay tuned for next summer!

Maps:

Saturday July 25th, 2009

I wanted to get the miles in today and a few hills in prep for the big ride next weekend. I ended up doing four climbs (Lookout Mtn, Dinosaur Ridge, and both hills in Bear Creek Lake Park) about 50 miles. It was a pretty good ride. I felt kind of sluggish heading up Lookout Mountain, but I made it so that is what matters. Judy is letting me borrow an old running GPS of hers that also accommodates biking. Sweet! Along with the normal stuff - speed & distance - it does elevation and percent grade of the slope!!! PERFECT for biking!

Ride Stats:

Distance: 49.6 miles

Time: 3.75 hours (I think)

Challenge: Just staying steady

No Map, sorry!

Sunday July 19th, 2009

Late post = quick entry

I did Vail Pass on mine, Chad's, and Scott's way back from climbing in the Glenwood Springs area. I wanted to do the Pass from West to East (opposite of what I did last time) because it is more difficult than East to West and this is the direction that we are going to be going for the ride in two weeks. I had almost chickened out and didn't do it, but figured I had crammed by bike in the back of the Jeep with 3 people, a dog, and camping and climbing gear, so not riding would be a little silly. It was rainy, windy, and cold, but being that it was also late in the afternoon, there was no one else on the path, so I didn't have to worry about the tourists that get a ride to the top and bike down :)

Ride Stats:

Distance: 25 miles or so (East Vail to Frisco)

Time: Don't know

Challenge: "The Dip". This is infamous on this portion of the trail... the path sits on the north side of the highway until it dips below the highway to then be on the south side... the bad part is the up side of the dip feels like you're climbing straight up a wall! Kills your energy instantly!

No map!

Sunday July 12th, 2009

Today, Nanci and I headed up to Evergreen again to tackle Sqauw Pass. I'm very impressed with myself for the first major climb of this ride. As stated on Bicycling.com, the climb to the top of Squaw pass is 18 miles with a net elevation change of 2895 ft. This makes for a very steady, but looong climb! I kept a great pace and was able to make it to the top with only one brief break to snack on a plum. The views on the way up and at the top were quite incredible!! The best was on the down side heading in to the Echo Lake area where there is a turn off that overlooks a HUGE valley... still, after living in Colorado for 3 years, some things still make me say "Holy, shit... look at that" (which I did say out loud... even though there was no one else around).


The cruise down the other side of the pass was a ton of fun! A very nicely paved road without tight switchback turns. This allowed for only minor slowing around the turns and I was able to cruise around them pretty quickly. Ended up in a really cool canyon that I haven't been in yet. This road is a very touristy road and it is fun to see people's heads turn as you wizz by at 35-40 mph on your bike down a mountain!

We headed in to Idaho Springs and had a short break for refueling. Then, we headed back to Evergreen... this is where the pain begins... we had to climb Floyd Hill! If you've been out here to Colorado and have driven west into the mountains on I-70, you have driven over Floyd Hill. The only catch is that the Frontage road is MUCH steaper than I-70 and it kicked my ass!!! Our climbing wasn't done there, either... we ended up climbing all the way back to Evergreen where Nanci's car was parked. I was sufficiently pooped!!!

I will agree with Nanci that I am a little disappointed that we only did 42 miles today (we had hoped to do 60) considering our Aug 1 ride is 78 miles! I keep reminding myself that our only goal for Aug 1 is to finish the ride... and let me tell you... I'm going to be pretty damn stoked when we do!!

Ride Stats:

Miles: 42

Time: I really don't know...

Elevation change: 2895ft for the Sqauw Pass climb... not sure of total change for the whole ride

Challenge: Making it up Floyd Hill without feeling like I was going to die... had to stay slow and steady (make that really slow and steady).

Goal: To stay positive for Aug 1. I got my jersey this week and that is excited. I know I can do it... just have to remind myself of that!

Map:
We didn't do the little off shoot on the right hand side of the map... just made a mistake when making the map.

Thursday July 9th, 2009

So I hit the road after work for a quick ride up Lookout Mountain. I suppose I should use the term "quick" loosely, but I did do the climb in 41 minutes, which is less than the last time I did it!

August 1st is quickly approaching, and I won't lie, I'm getting nervous. Gotta get on the bike more during the week otherwise I think I'm really going to regret it!