Cycle Montana 2012: Mission Mostly Accomplished

I returned to Montana again this year for another version of Adventure Cycling's Cycle Montana ride. The ride began and ended in Missoula this year, a different route from CM 2011. Six days and about 350 miles of riding were scheduled. I like Montana not only for the mountain scenery, but also because it is generally cooler weather out there than the rest of the country experiences in June... my motor does not run very well in severe heat and I don't think it ever will.

On the drive out to Missoula, we got a chance to stay at the Sacajawea Hotel in Three Forks, MT. It's a really surprisingly cool place that I discovered on last year's CM ride. If you are driving across I-90 in western Montana, this place is really worth an overnight visit!

A nice surprise this year was that Larry from Lake Havasu was on the ride again. We had spent some time together during last year's ride and we have similar riding ability, so Larry and I rode most of the route together, which was very enjoyable.

Day One- Missoula to Darby, MT- 66 miles
The ride began with a relatively easy ride up to the nice little town of Darby. About 30 miles of this was actually on a paved bike path, which was nice. Click here for STRAVA output, and here's a couple pictures:

 And here's a video of the day's ride:

This was my nice crib in Darby, at the Traveler's Rest Cabins:

Day Two: Darby to Wisdom, MT- 58 miles
This was probably the hardest day I have ever spent on a bicycle. The ride was scheduled for 76 miles but only about 25 percent of folks made it all the way... and no one who did said they had fun. The entire morning of the ride was pretty much occupied by climbing the relentless slopes of Chief Joseph Pass: about eight miles at a steady seven percent grade.

Here's a video of the Chief Joseph Pass Climb:

By the time we reached the top of the Pass and lunch it was getting quite warm and dropping into the Big Hole Valley on a hot summer day... well, it gets pretty warm there. A 30 mph headwind also popped up which, combined with the lack of shade, was going to make the last 18 miles out to Jackson, MT pretty miserable.  This is the water stop at the Big Hole National Battlefield, where it was HOT and WINDY.

Larry and I agreed to hole up in a bar in the remote little town of Wisdom and wait for the SAG wagon to scoop us up. We were not alone and I don't feel bad about it at all.

There was about 3700 feet of climbing.

Here's the STRAVA feed.

Day Three: Jackson, MT to Fairmont Hot Springs, MT- 76 miles

We rode in high wind and dodged rain all day on day three but, fortunately,  the wind was favoring most of the time and the rain never came.  I wore knickers and it proved to be a good choice.

We rode back up the Big Hole Valley to Wisdom, where we took shelter yesterday, and picked up a tailwind there.

This may have been the most scenic day of the ride and it featured a modest 1850 feet of climbing. The climb on Route 569 over the continental divide and downhill near Anaconda, MT were repeated from last year's event and were just beautiful.

The ten miles between miles 60 and 70 were very fast and fun, but the last six miles of the day were a miserable slog through the worst wind I have ever ridden in.  Here are pictures and video of the downhill from the continental divide. 

Shingles were blowing off the resort and Fairmont Hot Springs when we finally arrived there... and believe me I was darn glad to get inside a solid structure.

Here's the STRAVA feed for the ride.

20,000 Miles! I'm Thinking That's Noteworthy.

 

I just realized that some time last week I passed the 20,000 mile mark since starting my quest for cycling competence in June of 2008. I think that deserves a moment of silence.


We also leave the day after tomorrow for Missoula, MT where I will be doing Cycle Montana again this year. It's a week-long supported tour through some of the most beautiful scenery in the U.S.  There's about 380 miles of riding, I believe. After that, I'm going to be in LosAngeles where I will for sure want to ride up the fabled Glendora Mountain Road. I will be reporting in on these events without fail and videos are a strong possibility.

Today in miserable heat and wind I did my last training ride before going out west . I've been having trouble getting my HR into the upper registers lately but today was just a bit better. I'm feeling fit and ready to go... and excited to get started. My motor functions better in cool mountain air.

Harpeth River Ride- Part 3

Here is part three of the  ride in Tennessee. Part four, with suffering on a substantial hill, is still to come. We're out on the rural roads here and you get to see more of the countryside.

Interestingly, I do not believe I ever saw the Harpeth River on this ride and I have no idea whether or not it exists. Did not even see a sign anywhere offering directions to it. Hmmmm...perhaps it is some kind of inside joke the local folks like to play on visitors.

The Harpeth River Ride, Near Nashville, TN

Last week I traveled to Tennessee to ride. Several members of my online tribe, Bike Forums 50+,  had agreed to meet up near Nashville for a combination ride/social event. It was a chance to ride in a new and potentially nice place while logging some training miles for the 2012 Cycle Montana tour, which starts later this month. And also to socialize with some nice folks of course.

It was a great event,,, one of my best days on the bike ever! The ride filled up at 1500 riders, with routes of 102, 64, 44, and 20 miles to choose from. The metric century (64 miler) seemed like the right choice for me. The event was sponsored by Nissan and began and ended at their U.S. corporate headquarters in Franklin, TN. Here, I've arrived on Friday afternoon to pick up my event packet:

Since Nissan was a ride sponsor, three professional riders from Team Radio Shack-Nissan-Trek were scheduled to join the fun. Now I'm not really one to idolize celebrities and pro athletes but, I have to admit, this excited me just a little. This is Chris Horner and Ben King  at the start of the ride:

Well, like I said above, it was an excellent day on the bike for me. Perfect weather, excellent scenery, good roads, and well-run food and water stops... what more could you ask for?

Usually a metric century is a fairly hard ride for me, but I did the miles without much distress at all, including about 3200 feet of climbing. I did so well, that they gave me a medal at the end:

(They Gave a Medal to Everyone)

Conclusion: the HRR was an epic success for me and I'm really hoping to return next year... maybe  even do the 100 miler.

Videos of the event by my production company, Billydonn Productions, are in the works. Here is what has been done so far. Enjoy.

In part two, I actually  chased down the pro riders and rode in their draft for a short while. Disclaimer: This is not to be construed as an attempt to claim that I am a really good cyclist!

In part three, still to come, I will prove that by the time it takes me to climb "Pulltight Hill". It's not a pretty sight.

I've Been Bad, I Know

No. I haven't been missing bike rides... far from it! But I'm way, way behind  in my blogging. It just seemed that, for awhile, I was just riding with nothing noteworthy really happening. Generally I guess one thing I should report that my use of prescription testosterone has been a big success so far. After five months now, my body composition continues to change for the better as my weight creeps downward (about 207 now) with no loss of muscle mass. I'm starting to think realistically about weighing 190 or less now.

Riding this Spring
To catch up on the cycling, I've put in just over 1700 miles since my last blog entry. And most of it has, until recently, been just pretty much routine. Enjoyable, yes of course... just not really note-worthily so and certainly nothing epic to report. I have been trying to make sure a high percentage of my rides are at least 30 miles in length and my focus has shifted from riding fast to logging a lot of miles at more moderate speeds. We have had wind most every day which is common here in Nebraska. But this year it seems somehow to have more unrelenting than ever. A good many days have been in the 20+ mph range. As those who ride know, this means that there is not really a "neutral condition" day to help you judge your progress. There's nothing to do but HTFU and carry on of course.

Link to My Ride Records at Bikejournal.com

Sorting Through My Bikes
I don't believe I've mentioned this before but I have lots of bikes.... eight or nine or something like that. I'm a big fan of LeMond frames because they are good quality, they fit me, and there aren't going to be any more of them made for awhile, if ever. Also the name "LeMond" sounds very sexy and Euro doesn't it?

Anyway, I'm always experimenting with various new parts on my bikes as well as thinking about which bike to ride. But this spring I've sort of evolved toward taking three of my favorite road bikes and perfecting them while putting the others in a safe place for future use. One of the three favored bikes, "Old Reliable" took me through Cycle Montana last summer without incident and is soon to return there in a couple weeks. "OR" is geared for the mountains and is very nearly perfect, so she will not be altered. She has received new handlebar tape... a very tasteful Deda dark blue. Here is Old Reliable, with her new bar tape, in action last week at a ride in Tennessee. She is shod in DT Swiss RR-1s (now called 465s I think it is) in this pic and not the racy Mavics I used last summer.

 
A blog entry on that Tennessee adventure will be forthcoming VERY soon. I'll also blog on the other two bikes-in-transition in that blog entry.

Taco Ride

I did have one semi-noteworthy ride recently that ought to be reported. Did a local Thursday night ride here that is mostly done by drinkers who have a cycling problem. With friends Dusty and Megan I rode up the Wabash Trace Trail to Mineola, Iowa and the Mineola Steakhouse for beer and tacos. Good company and a good time.

 

(Photo Credit: Megan)

Here's a couple videos I made of the May 17th Taco Ride... courtesy of Billydonn Productions.

Winter is Slowly Ending

(Reader Reminder: Pics are clickable!)
We have had a couple weeks of really cold weather lately and one significant snowstorm. But we're getting that behind us now... weather will be in the low 50s tomorrow for the first time and those piles of dirty snow are disappearing fast now. We have continued to workout indoors twice a week in the Velo Garage and I've also been able to up the frequency and intensity of my core and upper body workouts. All of this has been productive and I have been able to see that in the power numbers I'm making on the trainer.

All in all, I 'm feeling really good thanks, no doubt, at least in part to the testosterone supplementation I've been on for five weeks. I am very, very happy with that.

We go an espresso machine for the Velo Garage, which has worked out very well for the Sunday morning sessions when I pick up fresh bagels and creme cheese.

I'm expecting to do about another month of indoor riding before the real outdoor season begins. I did get in an absolutely great outdoor ride last Friday in one of my favorite regional parks. There's a hill there that used to bully me and I like to go out there and challenge it periodically. Some day I will dance up it on my pedals... at lest that's my plan. Here's a look:

It was a good day  be alive!

My goal beginning now is to try for at least one good outdoor 

ride per week in addition to the indoor training.

I'm Having Seasonal Affective Order

Since my last post the weather has continued to break records for sunniness and warmth around here. Sure, we have had a cold snap or two during January, but we have also had lots of days in the 40s, and just had two sunny days in a row in the 60s!  I feel energized, more happy than sad, cheerful, motivated at work... all highly abnormal for the dead of winter. The snowblower is getting dusty in the garage.


Though I am convinced that something awful must be coming, I sure am enjoying this while it lasts! Here's a video sample of a ride from January 9th, the finish of a 30 mile ride over to the Wabash Trace trailhead in Iowa. It was a glorious day when you feel it is good to be alive!

Despite the good weather and opportunity to ride outside more often than normal, I have kept up my twice-a-week indoor training sessions with Coach Dusty and the Velo Garage crew for two solid months now. It is a good opportunity to ride with younger and stronger riders without getting dropped all the time! I took the leap and purchased a Cycleops powertap about six weeks ago to use in these sessions, which has been useful and interesting. The powertap is a harsh mistress though... she never fakes it!

 Sara, Rick and Dusty

These training sessions seldom last much more than one hour but they're all about intensity. I think it is going to pay off when the strength is needed for the long rides of the summer.

Above I'm rehydrating the night I made my goal of 5000 miles for the year.

 We did up the intensity a little last week!

Finally, dear diary, I had my annual physical exam a couple weeks ago and, inspired by those hokey "Low T" commercials, I had the doc do that test on me. I didn't really expect any issues and I checked out great for everything EXCEPT for testosterone levels! Well that's not stuff I want to be low on and I'm now using a gel product called Testim.

Initial results from this are entirely positive. I have more energy and am definitely recovering from hard exercise much faster. This may be another reason for my good humor of late! Men, get tested. It may not be just age that you are feeling.