Here We Go Again

Looks like the Millers are on the move!

I've been neglecting the blog...plenty busy with lots of stuff. I'll have more time on my hands starting in a couple of weeks.

Maybe I'll start with a race report of the "Off the Couch Chronicles" Chapter 4....the 2011 Leadville 100. Ha!

In the meantime, Dana gets home from Italy tomorrow and we move in three days....

STEAMBOAT...Here we come!

Winter Riding/Commuting....

So, at the last full moon I ducked out for a ride with a friend. We had scheduled a group ride, but no one else showed. I guess sometimes I'm sick and stubborn that way...glad to have at least one friend who is as well!

No pictures because the camera froze! We went out for about an hour and a half of sand draws and de-facto singletrack in about an inch and a half of snow. Temperatures started at about 13 degrees and were 9 degrees at the car when we were done. I wore the following:

Pearl Izumi Polarfleece bibs
Craft shell pants
Two pair of socks
Winter MTB shoes
Neoprene shoe covers
Craft l/s baselayer
Thermal Jersey
Balaclava
Endura lobster gloves

The only problem that I had was fogging glasses and cold toes. Otherwise fairly comfortable. I still haven't figured out the glasses fogging, but I think that the cold toes come from 1. too cold temperatures to be in cycling shoes (winter or not), 2. too small shoes, 3. too many socks. The reduced circulation didn't give my toes much of a chance off the bat. Next time I'll go with one pair of socks and try a tip I learned involving heat packs in my shoe covers.

Next full moon opportunity is coming up around the 31st. We'll see if I head out or not.

I also made quite a push on commuting to work by bike. Actually I made it over 20 days in a row riding to work. Coldest temperature was -5 one morning and it was never a particularly warm stretch. I rode my Performance fixie road bike before it started snowing and my 1x Rig once the snow fell. Deepest snow ridden in was around 10 inches!

I really enjoy riding in the elements. Assuming I can figure out the feet....and something to keep the fogging down, I look forward to the rest of the winter season. Once it starts staying light later, and is more predictable from a weather perspective, I'll start bringing the stuff to work I need to bust out some training rides after school.

I'll look to post a year in review cycling blog in the next day or two. Talk about where I've been and what I've learned in the past year on the bike. Maybe I'll include a picture or two.

Blogggggggin

I suppose that it must be official that I suck at Blogging! Based my reading of other cyberfriend sites, I am not alone. Oh well....maybe I'll get back on the wagon.

Two big milestones this last week. Thursday night was the coldest that I've ever gone on a bike ride. It was a night ride with Ken in and near Arnold Gulch. Only about an hour and a half, but my toes were very cold afterwards! Start temperature of 13 degrees and finish temperature of 9 degrees! The record didn't last long....

The next day on my commute into work, it was -2 degrees. Luckily its only about a 10 minute ride into work, but it was very cold...especially on the forehead.

Anyway, there you go....an update. Maybe later this weekend I'll post a 2009 riding summary with a couple of pictures.

out.

Inspired....

My wife rocks!!!!

Dana after her 20 mile snow run this week!

Dana is training for her next run. This year she's decided to run in the local Collegiate Peak's Run. http://www.collegiatepeakstrailrun.org/Page.aspx?PageID=3419 She'll be doing the 25 mile version, which blows me away. I'm not a runner, never will be, I am amazed at what Dana and her friends do on the trails...so much more difficult than what I do...I can coast for goodness sakes!

So I was super excited the other morning when Dana got up and headed out the door to run with her group at 7:30 on a Saturday morning....in the snow. That's right 20 miles in the snow and cold! She's my hero! I need to get off my ass and quit making excuses for not riding...and just ride. Follow the example.

The weather has been crazy this spring...not unusual, but crazy. Too much wind and variability of conditions for my liking. Can't wait for the summer! I'll be doing my first event of the year this Saturday..... www.3psalida.com. I'm doing the race with a fast skier and a fast kayaker, feeling the self imposed pressure. I'm guessing I'll be about 10 minutes slower than last year's time over the same terrain and distance. We'll see......I try to remember to post a report from the race.

Until then I'll just keep pulling inspiration from the example of my awesome wife!

View to Mt. Princeton as the clouds lifted!

I Heart the Backcountry

Over the years I've been a resort skier. Honing my intermediate tele technique on mostly "packed powder" with an occasional true powder day for good measure.

I'll venture into the backcountry from time to time, usually when I've got a friend to encourage me to go. In most cases that friend has been Matt. We've had great days at Montgomery Bowl and Diamond Peak in the Cameron Pass area, and last spring we had an amazing descent of the east face of Quandary Peak. Matt was on his way to Crested Butte to spend the weekend with his brother and picked me up for some backcountry turns at Monarch Pass on his way.

Matt gearing up at the trailhead.

We decided to ski an area off of Monarch Pass called Snow Stake bowl. It has this name due to a snow measurement stake just up from the trailhead. Matt skis 20 or so backcountry days a year and is a great study in backcountry strength and technique...its always a pleasure.

Matt taking the quad lift to the top of the bowl.

Based on my limited experience, I'd say that the majority of the skiing at snow stake is beginner to intermediate backcountry. Low angle and rolling terrain. The access is immediate after leaving the trailhead and many laps can be done in a day. We showed up at around 1:00 in the afternoon and got in four good laps before calling it a day so that Matt could get to the Butte before dark.

In between turns at Snow Stake.

Drew dropin' the knee...

After a couple of runs on the low angle stuff at the head of the bowl, we headed over to the other side to ski some steeper terrain in the trees. When we got to the top, had a nice view of our tracks from the other side.

Our tracks from the other side of the bowl. Mine are furthest viewers left, not the skin track..the next several sets are ours as well.



Once we got to the top we were intrigued by some steeper terrain on the west side of the pass. We moved in that direction and found a nice shot through the trees just past the cornice in the picture above. Matt is above the cornice for scale. Steep is relative up here...the steepest slope that we measured was 30 degrees.

All and all a great day in the backcountry. Good snow, good weather, good company, and good turns. I was hoping to do a mountain bike race yesterday, but this wound up being a more than adequate substitute. Its got my backcountry juices going...there is a bunch more to explore up there.

Today I think I'll head out for a road ride and then head up to Monarch with Dana and Thomas for a few hours.

Finally....

We've finally gotten a little bit of snow. Princeton looked great the other morning with the clouds and snow. I take 2 or 3 of these shots per year...one day, I'll get a great one. Haven't been up to Monarch yet, but I think the snow has finally been coming. Perhaps tomorrow or a 1/2 day next week before we head off for the holiday.

I got conned into joining the local gym. I don't have a problem with people who go to gyms, more just the gyms themselves. The one I've joined is pretty nice...I'm doing cycling specific lifting using resources found at this website:

www.fascatcoaching.com/cyclingresistancetraining.html

Its not a lot of fun, but after just a few weeks, I can tell that if I keep it up I'll be strong going into next season.

I don't usually hit the gym until after 8 at night. I've been riding my vintage performance fixie back and forth. The streets have been wet a bit, so when I was in Denver this past week I picked up a set of SKS race fenders. Super simple to set up and should work on the Trek roadie as well. I've also set up the handlebar with an incredibell and specialized light for the night ride. With the fenders, maybe I'll not use wet and rainy conditions as an excuse as much as in the past.

My Wheels are Bigger than Your Wheels!

29 vs. 26

While still basking in the glow of our VIP action from the night before...Matt and I got up on Sunday to go out for a ride along the foothills west of Ft. Collins. After some lounging around and riding into Old Towne for a burrito at Lulos, we loaded the bikes and headed for Lory State Park.

Blue Sky Trail Singletrack

I have some experience riding in Lory from my time living in Ft. Collins as well as some races back in the early 90's as part of the Rock Around the Parks series. These trails are super fun and have enough of everything to keep everyone interested.

Today our goal was to ride from Ft. Collins to Loveland via trails in Lory, the Blue Sky Trail, and the Devil's Backbone. At the start it seemed like a perfect day for a ride other than a chill in the air and a haze in my head from the night before.

Devil's Backbone in the Distance

Another amazing thing about this trail is that of the 32 or so miles on the route that we took, I'd guess that 30 of it is on single track. Not just any old hack single track, but awesome wanna ride it all the time single track.

We made decent time on our 16 miles to Loveland. A rider should always be skeptical of making decent time and not feeling any breeze, it surely means that the ride home is going to be a bitch.



Scoping the view of the Backbone

Sure enough we turned around and bore into some pretty significant winds. It definitely got to the point where the mental impact of the wind was at least as challenging as the muscle fatigue from the ride. Its one thing to power into a killer headwind...which we did miles and miles of...but to be also fighting killer crosswinds that are conspiring to run you off of the trail is another. Places along the Devil's Backbone trail require some concentration to pick a line and power along, the wind certainly compromised performance on this section.

Matt Climbing to the 'bone

Anyway, we railed along and enjoyed the ride as best we could. We were both cooked at the end. Usually wind isn't a huge factor on my mountain bike rides...at least not in the same way that it is on the road. Sunday was a different story...serious mental fatigue from the wind.

Matt is a great rider and I always have to work hard to keep up. He was also an instrumental part of my finishing the Leadville 100 this year (story still to come). He knows how and when to kick me in the ass and keep me going. I wish we could ride and share Skittles more often.

Last epic of the year....I keep saying so, but its not snowing yet. Ordered some warm baselayers planning on the possibility of riding all year. Over 30 miles, tough wind, plenty of vertical, most on single track...love it!

Shadow Riding v.2