uhmm, yum.

remember that little garden I started?

it was looking kinda ok.

now.....holy jeebus!

tightrope

tough time of the year,

this push thru the heart of the season.

feeling the stress of the questions 

of whether I'm up to it.  Why subject

to the hard suffering ahead, if not really 

racing, do I even want to race if the 

situation calls for it?

Not really a focused appraoch this year, 

sorry for the recent grumpiness.

Off to see Jess, pick up some last minute

bits, then down to the workshop.  On the

freshly tuned skinny tires for a systems check.

Bump and chat with Old Man Withers on my 

way out, then up Cold Spring, quick pop quiz

on 40:15 fireroad climbing, passing grade, 

mind now somewhat more at ease.  

Curious what tomorrow brings.

this blog now written on a Mac,

cuz iI'm better than you

the push

the Tour,
it's here again.

reflecting on bailing.
was the right thing to
do, gut instinct. but now,
when again? understanding
the task, best to be fresh,
gonna need lots of daylight,
or willing to carry bigger light,
might have to give up the beer.....

I want to get this done this year.
so, try again, early August,
bit of post 101 rest with a buffer
before Shenandoah. When is that?

Or skip/volunteer Teeberry and
rest after Tahoe trip for a late Sept
assault. Get in some altitude training,
yeahhhhh....that's the ticket.

Work to the South from the gun on
that early August date, at least tag the
full loop south of 30, that's only 75ish,
then the northern portion if the day calls for it....

so, yeah, was back on it again Sunday.
fresh fork hacked down for old red,
Sunday break in spin. Head to the lakes,
late start, figure to catch the 'cakes when
they finish, figure 1-ish is fourish for the
9ish am start. No signs when I get there,
do a quick lap up&down B'ville, then up&down
again, and again. And while debating a fourth
lap, Rich thankfully appears. Merciful cold
adult beverage that I been hoping for,
a bit of chillin' and chattin' and rolling home, no
sign of the crew, thought I'd bump 'em along
the rail trail. Sounds like they had a nice ride.

Climbing B'ville 3 times with day 3 legs felt good.
Good reminder/recognition of the core power
that lurks. Gonna need that for the Tour.

Gonna need that.
Gotta write my intent.

Gotta figure out my intentions first,
could be some competition in the nutball
ss'er class this year.....

and is anybody even stepping up?

haven't seen any intentions posted anywhere.....

wonder if Ralph is happy to have
somebody to talk to again?

oh well.

that was humbling.

in short, I bailed.

coastiness undid me.

descending and working the rocks

w/ feet static at 3 & 9 o'clock

worked the achilles on the left leg.

noticed it on the second climb of

the day up Ridge Rd. also noticed

the flat legs, the lack of extra oomph

from the motor was setting me up

for a long day.

less than brilliant sensations. the visuals were stunning, sunrise while bobbing and weaving across Ridgetop, then misty valley spinning, warm climb up Ridge Rd into the sun, ignore those warning signs. Canyon Trail was a blast, morning valley scenery was sweet. Refill the water, out across Comm Service. Try to 'spin' up LogSled and work out the kinks. Left leg still annoying w/ every pedal stroke, don't know if it's something that I can just ride thru. Get worked pretty good across Fender and My Fave, the Secret trail down to Cliff was a blast, but that achilles is getting worked and talking back.

End up skipping Grave's and heading right on up the ATV/Finish climb to Big Flat. Rode that at slummy tempo, didn't walk at all, which beat expectations, keep motoring on. Over to Wildcat and plunge down the ruttedness. Big fun, good freewheeling focus, loose babyhead drifting, and painful lofty moves off all those little drops. Reach the bottom and my left leg feels totally blown. Turn right to pedal up to Abby and the sensations raise the bar from a nagging 2-3days strain/overuse recovery, to sharp sensations of "Hey! Hey dumbass! you're starting to look at not being 100% for le Tour." So, at 6hours elapsed, I hobbled off the bike, sat on a big rock, and threw in the towel. Cracked my beer, ate my turkey sandwich and stared at some clouds. Ran thru the options, all of the route alteration options, and they all began with "limp across Abby." Limp, cause I sure wasn't figuring to find any flow with 1 1/2 legs. Finally accepted that today wasn't the day. Took 20 odd minutes to enjoy my sandwich and beverage,and climbed back onto the bike. But instead of turning back for the road, instinct turns me up towards Abby. Just a couple pedal strokes to test it.....left leg feels somewhat bearable, wayyyy better than 25 minutes ago.

Up thru the switchbacks, lots of debate, and I finally opt out any notion of continuing. Thinking again of potential injury vs big picture, can also still hit some good trail vs having to bail onto the road.....swing a quick right onto the Horse Trail option, then spin up Birch Run. From here I can pick and choose the path home, real easy to bail to a shortish fireroad spin if needed. But, so long as the leg is willing, may as well finish with some trail. So, wrap up the day with the original planned finish sequence, fun session across 3mile, then back over to Lewis Rocks and Rattlesnake, finishing with a backtrack across Comm Service.

Final tally was only 62 miles, 9:30 elapsed, 7:50 rolling. The full route will easily go 100+. The south of 30 loop is 25ish, that makes 87. I bailed on Abby and the Drained Res, skip Yellow Hill from the original plan, and add Lollipop + Hanzel & Gretel instead of Birch Run, and I'm guessing there's an additional 15ish. Makes for a difficult day, need the A game, not the B- that I brought to it yesterday. I bailed at just over 40, 5hours rolling, 6hrs elapsed. Then another 25 to eat lunch. Too much downtime early, but lots of picture taking...need to roll it with the more consistent steady gunning, just get back to the car tempo that I finished with, only dropping 15ish minutes over those last three hours. 8mph avg is a good target for the terrain involved, sooo...12-13hours of ride time. ouch.

yeah, so that cherry remains to be picked. was a beautiful day regardless. pre dawn rolling the pedals rubber whir up thru the forest birdies beginning their chirp and a faint whipperwhil down below the campground. country roads truely country without midday 50mph traffic buzzing, sun warming, as you do up the second climb of the day and more filled in mtn valley cloud magic from atop the minor vista, inspiring a flowy session down thru the canyon. Magical time of day to be out on a bicycle.

the spirit.

doing more with less.
apply this to all portions of your life.
think about it.

that said, not camping on Friday.
'self supported' is the name of the game.
sleeping in my bed, will get up an extra
25 minutes early for the CR-Vizzle commute.

eliminates setting up a tent and renting a spot.
not doing a drop, carrying everything I think
I'll need. Take advantage of reliable water
stops along the way. if I want a beer, I'll carry it.
turkey sandwich, carry it.
chocolate covered pretzels,
bring 'em along.

no camp to tear down,
have some chips and drinks,
then back to town to celebrate.

simple enough.
easy enough.

tranquillo

EZ days following the Stoopid.
Resting, but not really tired.
Just taking a small break to
refill the tank, let the mind relax.

Gonna empty it again on Saturday.

Camping at Pine Grove Friday night.
Dawn patrol, pre-5am departure in
order to catch the sunrise from Piney Mtn.
Then hopefully be done riding before sunset.

Jabber is parked, Dos is tuned.
Gonna be coasting thru this one,
will be carrying a GPS gizmo,
so full data set should be avail
after the wknd.....

In the spirit of self support,
do I do a drop for myself,
(cooler w/ sandwiches, snacks
& a drink or two stashed along
the route)? Or just count on
only water refill at the parks &
carry a full load thru the day....

The route is in my mind, it's even been
drawn out and freehand distanced on
Google Earth. 90+ for sure, will it crack
the magic 100 mark?

Only one way to find out.

stoopid pics

what was stoopid fun, was racing thru this.laurel was booming.

booming!

Pennsyltucky valleys.