The Blog Within

Today you are to pass by the region of Moab…

-Deuteronomy 2:18

So the much anticipated Monarch Crest bike ride finally happened this past weekend. I can describe the ride only as Brutally Awesome!

After spending the night in Salida, at 7:15am we drove to Poncha Springs and dropped off my Jeep, and then continued on to the top of Monarch Pass to the trailhead. The drive which normally takes about 15 minutes took double that thanks to five oversized loads and one idiotic trucker who insisted on trying to pass all of them. At the trailhead, those who were watching TV the night before finished readying there bikes while those of us who know how to prepare used the bathroom and rode in circles around the parking lot.

Finally Roger and I couldn’t wait any longer and started out. The trail begins steeply and the affects of the 11,000+ feet of elevation are immediate. I stayed on Roger’s wheel the first third of a mile to the sign-in board, but was wheezing and panting the whole way. Most of the group gathered here and made some last minute adjustments and plans, and Ken had to ride back down to the parking lot to retrieve Kaleb’s backpack. Ben and I headed off first with someone right behind us, maybe Ryan? I couldn’t turn around to look without risking going off the narrow singletrack.

After some beautiful and fairly level singletrack, the trail widened into a rocky and very steep Jeep road. Ben hit a rock or something and lost momentum, so I passed him and kept on chugging. A little further on a couple passed me. It must have been them behind me after the sign-in.

At the top of the first climb, where the Jeep road turns off to singletrack again, I waited for a moment to catch my breath and to see whom from our group would be along next. Ryan arrived about three minutes later and we headed down the singletrack, Ryan leading and me right behind him. We continued on this way until about the top of the climb. He gained some ground on me due mostly to him being 1/2 my age, and on a full suspension vs my hardtail. When I eventually caught back up to him, we both waited and moments later along came Roger and John. The four of us took a short break and then pressed on together.

I hung with the group pretty well until the next climb, which was fairly rough and their full suspension setups easily outpaced my hardtail. A few minutes later, at the summit of the climb, and I think the highest point of the trail, I caught up with them having a snack. It bears mentioning here that on every previous ride we have ever done together, I have always been the most out of shape in the group, and have routinely brought up the rear. Because of this, I would typically see Roger and Ryan et al at the trailhead, but not again until the end. So you can imagine their surprise when I grunted up over the summit just a couple of minutes behind them!

The scenery from this part of the trail, which runs along the Continental Divide, is simply breathtaking. I didn’t bring a camera, but I will try to get some photos from those who did to post later. We hung out here for a good while eating snacks, enjoying the scenery and waiting for some more of our group to arrive. After probably 1/2 hour, Roger, Ryan, John and I took off, while Ben and Cam waited for the rear guard to arrive.

We rode together for several miles, hammering the pristine singletrack like it was a race course. Eventually the trail became very rocky and rough. I was able to ride it competently on my hardtail, but not nearly as fast as my fully suspended compadres and they left me for what would be the last time. (note to self: upgrade to full suspension before riding Monarch Crest again)

From here on, the details in my mind are less distinct and the ride became more of a flowing blend of singletrack, climbing, rocky descents, tree roots and jaw-dropping scenery. It was a time of passing and being passed by the same groups of people, encountering numerous groups of riders huddled around one of their number changing a tire or performing some other trailside repair. There were men waiting for their female riding partners to catch up, and women waiting for their male partners. There were riders expertly navigating the technical sections with grace and speed, and those not-so-expertly navigating the same sections with speed alone.

At one point I heard Roger on the radio attempting to locate Ken and Kaleb. From the terrain of the trail and the reception, we later determined that I was still running not more than 15 minutes or so behind them. Wow!

Eventually, the trail gives up climbing, and the remainder is pretty much all downhill, with some sections more technical than others. After crossing Silver Creek on a wooden bridge, the trail turns sharply left and drops INTO the creek for a ways. I still don’t understand the logic of this, but learning to ride in a flowing, rocky creekbed (with no brakes) was a blast! (note to self: upgrade to disc brakes before riding Monarch Crest again)

Immediately after the streambed ride, the trail reaches an intersection with the Rainbow Trail and Silver Creek road which is an easy descent down to Rte 285 and ultimately back to Poncha Springs. I opted for the road, due in part to the impending thunderstorm I had been hearing for a while. It turned out to be a wise decision, as not 5 minutes into my blazing descent, it started to rain, and then hail with a vengeance! Fortunately there was no lightning nearby. Cyclists were huddled under trees in every direction, but my thinking was to just ride on as fast as I could and hope to ride out of it. Surprisingly it wasn’t all that cold, so I stayed in my shortsleeved jersey, but at 25MPH+ on a mountain bike, those hailstones HURT!! I pulled over and threw on my long-sleeved jersey, put away my sunglasses and headed back out. I have never ridden in weather like this before, and the feeling of flying down a dirt road as fast as you can possibly go in blinding rain and hail with no brakes is actually quite interesting. (another note to self about disc brakes) After maybe 15 minutes of riding in the storm, my plan paid off and I dropped out of the weather. From here I averaged about 30-35MPH (with brakes now) until I reached Rte 285, and from there coasted down the bike lane at 40MPH+ all the way to Poncha Springs and my Jeep at the visitor center.

Up until this point I had no idea where Roger, Ryan and John were, and just assumed they would be at the parking lot already, but when I got there, there was no one, and no note indicating they had been there. Weird. I put some stuff away, cleaned up a little and really started to wonder where everyone was. Slowly it began to dawn on me that I was actually the first to arrive! It turns out that Roger, Ryan and John opted to take the Rainbow Trail mere moments before I arrived at the intersection, and since they also got caught in the hailstorm on a much more technical route than I chose, it placed them almost 2 hours behind me.

While I was waiting, Ben called me and said he and Orrie had missed the turn to the parking lot and had ridden all the way back to Salida, so they hung out there for the duration, while I moved the Jeep up to the other side of the intersection to prevent anyone else from doing the same thing. Eventually everyone made it back to Poncha Springs in one piece, and the saga closed with retrieving vehicles from Monarch pass and retrieving cheeseburgers from Sonic.

This trail is more technical, more scenic, more climbing and more descending than anything I have ever ridden before. It is clearly deserving of it’s IMBA epic designation, and should be on the to-do list of every serious mountain biker!

Elapsed time: 3 hours 43 minutes
Total time:   5 hours 05 minutes

Now for the technical stuff…

Before this ride I spent a fair amount of time worrying about how to set up my bike and what to bring for clothing and food. Here is what I decided.

I removed my commuting luggage rack and obviously installed my knobby tires.

I ran the tires with Tru-Goo self-sealing tubes and 40psi. I had good traction, but worried a little about getting a flat, especially after passing probably 30 people people fixing flats along the trail. However, I did not have any tire issues whatsoever, so I think I got the pressure about right, and WTB Velociraptor tires are awesome!

I was initially going to run my Marzocchi MX Comp fork at 20psi, but at the last minute I opted to lower it to 15psi. Based on the terrain I encountered this turned out to be an excellent choice and the fork operated beautifully!

My chain was new about a week ago, and the morning of the ride I cleaned and oiled it for the first time. I think this was actually a bad idea, as it gave me some shifting issues for the first several miles of the trail. This was extremely weird as I commute to work daily on this bike, and it never has shifting issues. Fortunately at 3.00 miles it stopped misbehaving and gave me no further issues.

My Specialized Rockhopper hardtail is completely stock, with the exception of the front fork. Along the 32 miles I rode on this trail I saw numerous breakdowns and flat tires. Nearly all of the other bikes were full suspension, with most costing several thousand dollars more than I paid for mine. Other than the temporary shifting issue described above, my bike gave me no issues, and handled everything I pointed it at without complaint! However, the full suspension bikes definitely had the advantage over the super rough terrain. I was able to ride it, but not nearly as fast as they could.

For clothing my goal was to be comfortable while keeping my load as light as possible. Of course I wore my Descente shorts, as well as a cheap wicking t-shirt from Walmart, a Pearl Izumi cycling vest and my Cannondale Roam shoes. I also packed a thin, light long-sleeved shirt in my Camelbak and called it good. This setup turned out to be pretty comfortable, the only exception being that I could have used a regular cycling jersey with a zipper for the parts of the trail where it was hotter. The shirt I wore wasn’t bad, it’s just that a jersey would have been a little bit better. Overall though, I felt my choices worked well together.

What to bring for food was a little more problematic, but now that I have done it once, I know exactly what to bring next time. Specifically, I brought a lunch this time, and I didn’t eat one bite of it. Whether it was the altitude or the exertion, for whatever reason I just wasn’t hungry during the ride. What did work well, however, was Gu energy gel, Jelly Belly Sport Beans and Clif Shot Bloks. I ate Gu or Sport Beans at least once every hour and the boost of energy they provided was unmistakable. This was my first time trying Shot Bloks, and although the Cran-Razz ones were yummy, I was at first disappointed that they didn’t provide a quick boost like the others did. Upon later reflection though, I think they provided the meal-like sustenance that I needed, with some long burning fuel for my muscles. For future rides, I will skip the lunch altogether and bring just the Gu, Shot Bloks an Sport Beans. I may also pack some beef jerky or something in case I have to wait out a storm, or worse, get stranded somewhere due to an injury or mechanical failure.

Hydration was not a big deal. I live and work at fairly high altitude and have also done some riding in Moab. I brought all the water I could carry and drank as much as I could before the trip. Yes, I was stopping to pee frequently along the way, but that’s much preferred to dehydration! Specifically, I carried a 70oz Camelbak full of water, and two 24oz bottles filled with Powerade. I found that I drank from the Camelbak pretty regularly like I normally do, but I also tended to take a pull from the powerade bottle any time I stopped for a break and after the harder climbs. In each case, the shot of flavor was just what I needed for a moral boost. Over the course of the day I emptied the Camelbak and one bottle, and made a sizeable dent in the second bottle. When I ride this trail again, I will carry exactly the same hydration setup.

Finally, some miscellaneous observations:
My Shimano M324 pedals continue to please me. On some of the more technical downhill I clicked out and flipped them over to ride platform, but everywhere else where I was clipped in they worked perfectly.
My Camelbak Rogue is comfortable, stays put on technical descents, and holds *just* enough stuff for a full day of riding.
My v-brakes worked quite well in all the technical stuff as long as they were dry. Once I got to the creek riding and the rain they were essentially useless. Disc brakes would be a huge improvement for this type of riding.
FULL SUSPENSION! While my Marzocchi front fork worked flawlessly and I was able clean everything on my hardtail, I definitely had to work much harder at it than those on full suspension rigs. I think the ideal setup would be something with a pro-pedal or platform setup, or the Specialized Brain system. With as rough as some of the climbs were, a fully locked out suspension probably would not have helped all that much.

Overall this was a fabulous ride and one that I hope becomes an annual tradition. Thanks to Roger for planning the whole thing, to Jen for putting up with me planning for and prattling on about it, to Matt for donating a two-way radio for me to lose somewhere along the trail and to Ben for giving away my spare tubes!

The Monarch Crest ride was amazing, and I’ll post about that in a bit, but first, this explains the golf-ball sized hail we saw yesterday afternoon!

This was taken by a coworker from his house just around the corner from us. As near as we can tell, the tornado was about a mile east/southeast of our house. The scary thing was, we were eating dinner and never even realized it was there!

Here is another photo from a Denver traffic helicopter:

Here are a couple videos of it:

Ava made me promise to tell everyone that she rode her mountain bike all the way around the Hidden Mesa Trail last night.

18 inches feels like a lot more space to a car driver than it does to a cyclist.

About twice a year REI hosts a member’s only garage sale. This year I was intentionally avoiding it due to a conflict between temptation and budget. However, I desperately needed a new set of tires for bike commuting, and I went to REI with $40 and some change in my pocket, which was just enough to cover a pair of WTB Slickasaurus street tires for my mountain bike. I knew the garage sale was going on that day, but I was going for tires. Just tires.
All I need is a set of tires.

So I arrived at REI and of course an overwhelming force dragged me out through the back of the store into the vortex of clearance and drastic mark-downs. I’ll just look, I told myself. It’s afternoon and all the good stuff is probably gone anyway.

Rummaging through a rack of men’s cycling apparel uncovered a pair of Descente Chevron Classic Pro cycling shorts, marked down from $95.00 to $46.83! What a DEAL!!! I grabbed them and carried them with me, you know, just in case. I fully intended to return them to the rack at some point and go get my tires.

I went to show them to Jen, who was chatting with a sales associate about a rather nice camp cot, again, just in case. “Check these out.” I said, “They’re marked down almost $50!!! Too bad they’re not less than $40 though, since that’s all I brought.” We both laughed and I turned to return them to the rack so we that could get the tires and get going.

And then the strangest thing happened: the associate said, “Let me see those for a second.” I handed them to him and, pulling out a red Sharpie and a special hole-punch, he scratched out the $46.83 price, marking the shorts down further to $36.00! He smiled and handed them back saying, “Have a great day” and walked off.

So now what was I to do? I had in my hands a pair of cycling shorts marked down $59 from the original price…
The decision was easy: the tires would always be $40, but these shorts would be this price only once. So of course I bought them and commuted on knobby tires until next payday!

And then the real problem became apparent…

I now own the most comfortable pair of cycling shorts I have ever experienced. They are truly an amazing piece of technical apparel. Riding while wearing them is sheer joy, and I swear they even make me faster. So how is that a problem, you ask? THEY NORMALLY COST $95.00. I will never be able to justify that expense for one piece of cycling clothing. Ever. And the odds of finding another pair marked down $59.00? About the same as winning the lottery.

So as I wear my snazzy new shorts, I hope and pray that they will last forever, as they will most likely be the only pair I ever own.

Mon 8/18/08

6:50 AM MDT – Bike to work – 57° F

Clear blue skies, bright sunshine,
full moon for added aesthetics…
what a great day to be a bike commuter!

My first goathead puncture…
I’ve been riding here for 4 years and just now got one.
So now I’m off to the store to get self-healing tubes…

In mountain biking, there are varying definitions of what makes up an “Epic” ride. Generally though, it seems to encompass trails that are 30 miles or longer, or that take more than 4 hours to complete.

Back in June, it took me 5 hours to drag my fat rear end around the 10.6 mile Slickrock Bike Trail in Moab. So for me, that was an epic ride.

One week from tomorrow, I am riding the Monarch Crest Trail, which, at 35 miles and with 2,700 feet of climbing, is truly an epic ride. If you’re quick with math, you would think that this would take me about 17 hours to complete. However…
I have been training!

Upon returning from my lame performance in Moab, I decided it was time to stop thinking about bike commuting and actually start doing it. So I got some smooth tires and a cycling computer for the mountain bike and have been turning 80 to 100 miles per week since.

I’ve lost 10 pounds thus far, and haven’t felt this good on a bike in years. I definitely have a ways to go in the weight department, but anything I don’t have to drag over the Continental Divide is a help! It also helps that I live at 6,000 feet and never suffer from altitude sickness!

So in 7.5 days, I will be saddling up and heading out on my first ever bona fide epic ride…we’ll see how it goes…

I was all suited up and ready to head out on my bike this morning. Seeing how much it’s raining, boy am I glad I changed my mind and took the car!