NEW BLOG ADDRESS!

Well, my new blog is definitely at:
http://jttrain.wordpress.com

WordPress is awesome!! I even get stats on people who surf my blog, links made to my blog, traffic to my blog, etc. It's definitely worth the switch. I'll keep this one here for archival, but otherwise, you're gonna have to come to the WordPress site for updates. See ya there!!

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If you are looking for info on Periacetabular Osteotomies, go to my archives (right hand sind, scroll down a bit) and start with the oldest ones first. You can follow some of the training I did to recover, get info on my spectacular surgeon, and more. I've also got some useful links off to the right as well for additional information. It was a long journey, but well worth it. Leave a comment at this post if you have questions and I'll respond!

NEW BLOG!!

I'm back! After an entire week (it felt like an eternity), Blogger has finally fixed my account. I got mixed up with the Beta Blogger version they are creating. Turns out, they are synching Google accounts with Blogger accounts. My problem? When I originally created my Blogger account, I had used my Google account username and password for Blogger. I've got so many usernames and passwords floating around in my head that I just wanted to keep things simple. Bad move, but who would have known that Google and Blogger would join forces?!?

In the meantime, I started a new blog:

http://jttrain.wordpress.com

I haven't decided if I'm going to stay with WordPress or come back to Blogger. I'm leaning toward WordPress because they have been absolutely awesome! I submitted some feedback with a question (knowing full well I'd never get a response), and lo and behold, I got an answer in probably an hour! I'm thoroughly impressed. Spokin' Sportsman uses WordPress, and we use a version of it at work. Seems to work well, so in the meantime, bookmark the above site until I make up my mind, which could be never. ;o)

So, help me out! Leave a comment and tell me which site you like better, the Blogger one or the WordPress one. Thanks!

Durango 100

The results are already posted! Matt and I spent a dirty, muddy, rain-infested day in Durango doing a mountain bike race on Saturday. Matt signed up for the 100-miler and I, the 36-miler.

We rolled into Durango Friday evening and registered. I'd checked the weather before heading out that day--20% chance of rain. We're gonna have dry weather! Or, worst case, it'll rain in the afternoon. I can live with that. When we picked up our swag bags at registration, a sheet with the race rules indicated that there was actually a 30% chance of rain, high of 78 and low of 40. Okay, I can live with that too...

We unloaded in the hotel room, Purgatory Village Hotel, got the packs and clothing set out for Saturday's race, and arranged the wake-up call, 4:00 AM. Uggghhhhh......We climbed into bed and tried to doze off. It's hard to sleep when you have the race jitters; they're something I haven't been able to overcome as of yet. I think I finally fell asleep, but was awakened to loud thunder and lightening. I looked over at the alarm clock, 1:00 AM. Well, hopefully the rain will pass by the morning. It didn't.

We hit the starting line and checked in with thunder and lightning going off all over the sky. Matt and I huddled under an overhang of a building contemplating whether we were out of our minds or what?!? We had a 30 minute delay in start and the storms had cleared for the moment. We were off...reluctantly.

The 100 milers took off first, then the 100K, then me, the 50K. Matt took off with lots of energy and strength. Me? Not so much. The initial climb up the Worlds Course left my wheels mud covered and seized. I had to hop to the side of the trail and scrape off the crap. This put me in VERY LAST FRIGGIN' PLACE!! It took every ounce of effort in my soul to not turn around and call it quits. Believe me, the though went through my mind several times that day. I jumped back on the bike and hauled ass, hoping to catch up with some. It wasn't until the dirt road that I started to pick off the riders. Of course by this time, since I was riding hard to catch up, I was already getting pooped. I felt like I was gonna hurl at any moment. I had this feeling with me through the majority of the race. I'm thinking maybe part of it was the altitude. Who knows.

Well, I made it up to the 1/2 way sag point and filled up the water bottle (I had Sustained Energy in there with about 1/4 of the bottle left). I crammed a Hammer bar down my gullet and managed to keep my break under 3 minutes. More single track. Today, single track was not my friend. It was muddy, slimy, wet, slick, gooey, sandy, and just plain sick. Heading up to the highest point on the Colorado Trail was brutal for the lungs. I could hardly breath and kept wishing for more road. A good majority of this was hike-a-bike for just about everyone. You saw more footprints in the "trail" than tire tracks. Once I hit the road, I picked off some more people, but all guys. My place in the women's standing was set...it had been by the time I had hit the Graysil Mine sag spot. Bummer.

I managed to make the ride crash-free until the very last leg of my journey heading back down the Worlds Course to the finish line. I was screaming down this gloppy, mud-infested excuse of a trail at a pace that even shocked me. I think I just wanted it to be over. There was a huge sign off to the right that said S-L-O-W. Well, duh, most people would slow down. Not me. I was getting ready to make the corner, banked to my left (uhhhh, you don't do that in slick mud) and slid out to my left. This "smart" move propelled me to my left and down the mountain. Holy crap! I landed on my chest, pushed apart some weeds to see where I was, and saw nothing but straight down. Ahhhhh!!!!! Scary as hell, let me tell you. The weight of my bike on me was starting to cause me to slide down the mountain, yes I was on mud, grass and weeds for the most part on a very steep incline. I managed to gingerly turn myself around while holding my bike in my right arm above my head at all times. I thought my arm would fall off. I tried to climb back up to the trail, feeling my feet give way in the mud with each push. I stopped and realized I needed to get rid of the bike. I just couldn't move well with it in my hand. I rested a sec and with one huge push, I threw it back on the trail, hoping it wouldn't bounce off the dirt and come falling back on me. I made it and the bike rested peacefully on the trail. That made it much easier for me to grab onto weeds and pull myself back on the trail.

YOUCH! My knees were killing me. I think I landed on them first. I shook off the pain, hopped back on the bike, and made it down to the finish line with Matt at the bottom clapping and smiling. I was really glad to see him there! He took my bike, handed me a recovery drink, and then left to spray off all the mud I'd collected from the day.

Final stats? 6 hrs, 31 minutes. I was 82 out of the 101 people stupid enough to race today. I placed 4th in my division. My only consolation? The women ahead of me were all big racers who do this crap on a continual basis. I'm glad it's over with and happy with the fact that I didn't bail out.

New Wheel

Got a new rear wheel on the singlespeed that is lighter and tad noisier--not as noisy as my Chris King hubs though! It's a Velocity Aeroheat 24" rim with a Paul Word SS hub. I actually had the front 24" wheel built up along with this wheel, but I am keeping it off for now and still have the 26" wheel up front.

Had another great ride on the SS tonight! I'm beginning to really get into the bike when I'm well rested. On days when I'm pooped, that thing can be a serious workout! Tonight, it was just plain fun!

We did the combined Chica Ride and the Timid Tuesday ride. Randy wants to start calling it the M&M ride since Jim always brings M&Ms. Randy doesn't like the word "timid". Guess I can't blame him. ;o) Anyway, had a great crew tonight, Jim, Randy, Mitch, Kiyoko and me! Evan stopped by to wish us well, but his ankle is one swollen mess! He twisted it 2 times on last week's ride and it started to swell. He said he's gonna see a doc soon, so I hope it heals. If I recall, this is an old injury that keeps coming back. His mom is an RN, so I'm sure she's on his case to get that thing taken care of too. Bummer, he's a great addition to the Tuesday rides.

So, we did some Elena riding tonight, bypassing the more technical north Foothills. Lots of fun, swoopy trails, and tons of riders! More riders than we usually see on the Tuesday night adventures. Great weather, great friends, great ride!

I'm hitting the trails with Denise tomorrow night...should be fun! We'll either be doing King of the Mountain or North Foothills depending upon the weather.

Stonewall Century

The Stonewall Century was a blast! Paige and I took off from NM at around 5:30 PM, a bit later than we wanted, but oh well. We rolled into La Veta, CO at about 10:30 PM after stopping for a quick bite to eat on the way. We took I-25 all the way there...talk about a boring drive! So, we're trying to find somewhere to eat (Paige hadn't had dinner yet and wanted some pre-ride chow). We decide to get some gas and check out Springer, NM...don't ask why, there was just nothing else out there, and we figured we'd check it out before hitting Raton, the next town down the way.

Springer, home to male juvenile delinquents (some of whom were my ex-students from my principal days), was a bad idea...we rolled through town, apparently at 37 mph, where the speed limit was 30. We get pulled over by the po-po at a gas station. Being girls, we decided to put on the charm, you know, smile, be sweet, make a little small talk, act a tad on the ditzy side. It worked, the police officer was very nice. After finding that Paige had no warrants out for her arrest, we were free to go with a warning.

So, we made it to the next town, Raton, and grabbed a bite to eat at Denny's. Then on to Sammie's Motel and RV Park in La Veta. We thought we were pulling into a trailer park. Turns out, that's the motel. Each trailer is split in half to form a motel room. Actually quite roomy and clean. Refrigerator, 2 beds, room to store our bikes, great showerhead, can't ask for more than that...oh, an alarm clock would have been nice. Well, I had an alarm on my heart rate monitor and another on my cell phone. We didn't quite trust those, so we called my sweet, loving husband and asked if he'd set his alarm for 4:45 AM and call us too. Paige and I owe him big time for that one!

60% chance of thunderstorms--
4:45 AM rolled around way too quickly, and all 3 alarms worked. We ate breakfast we'd brought with us, got showered, and rolled out of the motel. The tour starting area was only 2 blocks from where we were staying. It was wet outside and it had been raining all night. The temps were pleasant early in the AM, so we decided on arm warmers, rain jackets, and that was it. The directions were easy, the lady at the start pointed to her right and said, "You go that away, turn left, and keep goin' straight. You'll get to Segundo for lunch, then you'll come back the same way." Hey, even I can follow those directions!!

This was an exceptionally run event for only $40! We had break spots about every 12-15 miles along the way (with home baked goodies at every stop--boy did I ever want to eat some of those brownies and cookies, but I refrained), and there were SAG vehicles driving up and down the route the entire time. Not only were there SAG vehicles, there were also about 4 motorcycle cops that drove up and down the route, making sure drivers were cautious of the bikers. I don't think I ever went more than 5 miles without seeing some sort of tour support. About 10 miles out of town, there was an area where dirt and mud had washed into the road overnight. The tour crews and a police officer were out there shoveling and sweeping the road for us!! Talk about service!

Well, the ride outta town was a climb, but only for the first 24 miles or so, then mostly downhill to Segundo (50 mile point). Nothing too significant, other than a ton of earthworms that had washed into the road. At lunch, Paige and I noticed that we had earthworm all over our bikes--yeck! We made our own sandwiches for lunch. I should have made it to the lunch spot extremely fast, but my bladder had other things on its mind. I don't think I hydrated THAT much for the ride, but I was going to the bathroom about every 30 minutes.

The ride back was almost all climbing. I was very glad I had invested in a compact crankset for this tour. It did wonders for the knees, and allowed me to ride in the big chain ring almost all day. Paige and I ran into a couple of guys, one from Durango, and one from Colorado Springs. We took turns pulling for a bit, but the CO Springs guy was beat...his Durango buddy hung back with him, and Paige and I continued on. From here on out, I continued to have bathroom issues...I didn't think I was drinking too much, but who knows. Paige pedaled on, and we didn't see each other till the end. I'd been leap frogging these 2 "Ward Cleavers" along the way. Seemed they had to go to the bathroom about as much as I did so we'd say hi as we took turns passing each other. Anyway, it seemed that every time I'd get close to their rear wheels, they'd take off like bats outta hell and I poop out. Turns out one of them, Robert, was really afraid of snakes. There were several on the road today, so I yelled out "Snake!" as I passed one on a climb. Robert thanked me as they passed and went whizzing by, too fast for me to catch onto the rear wheels--again!! Finally, on a steep climb, I pushed it fast, literally blowing by everyone (I have no idea where I got the energy). One of the Ward Cleavers yelled out, "There she goes!!" They eventually caught up to me, as usual, and this time, I grabbed their wheels and hung on...for about 12 miles, until one of them had to pee. It was a great pull, and just what I needed to finish the last big grunt up to Cuchara Pass.

I got to the top and a support lady came up to me and told me that I'd better put my rain jacket on because there was lots of rain ahead and there was a lot of water running across the roads. She wasn't kidding. For the last 20 miles, I was pelted by rain that really hurt when it hit you in the face! I kept a pretty fast pace on the downhills, which didn't help. There was dirt and mud everywhere in the road. I had to take the lane all the way down. People were bailing left and right, hitching rides from SAG vehicles or spouses who had been following them all day. There was no way in heck I was gonna bail now, so I hunkered down and made it to the finish, totally drenched. There was a BBQ at the end of the ride, but Paige and I were going to meet at the car and change first. I get to where the car was supposed to be, but no car!! What the?!? Well, I was a tad concerned that something had happened to Paige, but I was wet and cold and needed to get warmed up, so I went over to the BBQ in the park. I got my chow and sat down to a picnic table under an awning (still raining out) with some other folks. My shorts squished out water when I sat down...that's how wet they were. Eck! Turns out Paige had gotten to the car just before me, and had driven back to the route to see if I was okay. We missed each other, probably by seconds!

After drying off and getting warm clothes on, the sun came out, of course. We saw the CO guys we had ridden with on the return home and chatted with them a bit, then headed out to find a coffee shop for some java for the ride home. On the way home, we saw a huge brown bear walking along a creek, probably fishing. It was a really neat site! We arrived home to find Matt had put a new wheel on my Kind SS. I'll take it for a test ride on Tuesday.

The Stonewall Century was 102 miles of pure fun. Paige and I are planning on coming back next year to do it again! Ride time was 7:16, total time 8:48, average speed 14 mph, max speed 37 mph, almost 3000 calories burned, average heart rate of 142. Yep, I've got lots of room to improve. Nothing to brag about, but I'm just thrilled that I got in my 2nd ride post-surgery over 100 miles long!

Biking and Such

Holy cow, I just checked my blog and my last entry was on the 8th! I've definitely been slacking, but I have a good excuse...we've been on the road almost every weekend! Hard to keep up with the blog and travel and ride and work and....well, you know.

So, here's the recap: I've been doing lots of riding!

Tuesday Chica rides have been in low attendance, but not to worry, Jim's Timid Tuesday ride keeps me occupied! Glad I decided to do my ride on the same night as his. I've been taking out the singlespeed and doing all sorts of damage to my quads...they burn every time I try to pedal!

Last weekend we were in Leadville, CO--Matt did an excellent job in the LT100, as did other local folks like Nate, Travis, Brent (and Brent's dad and stepmom!), Rick, our former governor Gary Johnson, and his friend Deb did quite well representing the state too.

In the morning, I woke up and headed to the starting area for the race. We stopped in Provin' Grounds for some morning java, and Matt caught a little more shuteye before the race start. Once I saw him off, I hooked up with Paige and some of her old Texas buddies. We got a bite to eat, went to hang out with part of their Leadville support crew friends, then Paige and I took off for a ride of our own (after the other 2 bailed on us due to fear of rain and altitude sickness). So, we had a great ride together, even though we DID get drenched. Paige is always fun to ride with though...fun, great sense of humor, and never one to shy away from a ride in the dirt!

We started out from Paige's camp site at Sugar Loafin' and took the road to a trail that goes around the perimeter of Turquoise Lake. The dirt trail is on one side of the lake only, so we biked through the Turquoise Nature Trail to warm up the legs (reminded us of the super fast stuff in the Bosque trail in NM). The edge of the lake actually had a very nice beach! After messing around on this very short piece of trail, we then took the road up to the point where the Leadville race came through. On our way, we saw a beautiful nest of Osprey--the mom, dad and baby. It was amazing to see! Wish I would have had a camera with better zoom.

Anyway, we picked up the dirt trail from there, and found it to be surprisingly fun and even had a couple technical areas. CO has been getting its fair share of rain, just like NM, so there were some nice creeks and waterfalls that went into the lake. The rain hit as got about 2 miles into the trail, coming and going, then just dumping on us.

We finished up the ride, wet but happy to have been out on the bikes. I had to haul tail to get to the finish line...I wanted to be there when Matt came through! Saw most of our friends make it, including the hubby! I also got a chance to meet Jenn Dice, IMBA Government Affairs Rep in Boulder, CO. That was nice since we've always exchanged emails and talked on the phone, but never met!

This was a great weekend. Matt's trying to talk me into doing Leadville next year. Paige wants to do it, so why shouldn't I??? Okay, peer pressure has set in. Guess I'll try to get in next year--it is a lottery, you know. The race was nicely organized, even though it was stretched over 3 days. We were fed well and the ceremony on Sunday morning was really nice. It definitely supports the "little guys" who come out to ride much more than the top finishers. In fact, the awards are given out from the last place finishers up to the first. I liked that idea! Many of the top finishers weren't there anyway.

Well, next weekend is La Veta, CO for me and Paige...got the Stonewall Century to complete. Week after is the Durango 100. I may try the 30+ route while Matt does the 100. Hopefully it's a dry day!

Interval Training

Well, woke up Tuesday morning and decided to ride before going into work. We're moving into a new building, so all my stuff was in boxes...not much work to be done. I figured if I went in a little late, the boxes would be in the new place and then I could start unpacking!

So, decided to take the road bike for a spin since the Stonewall Century I'm doing with Paige is coming up soon. Matt suggested trying 3 sets of 3 20/40 intervals, so I gave it a go...this training stuff, while beneficial, can take the enjoyment of biking right out of you. You definitely need to do it in moderation--guess that takes me out of contention for becoming a pro biker (not that I would ever do that anyway).

So, here were the stats--very poor, but I suppose lots of room for improvement is the upside of the whole thing. I went down to the Casino, did the intervals on Tramway, then climbed to the Tram, then through the neighborhood and back home. RT: 1:00 TT: 1:01 (light at Casino) Max speed: 37.7 Avg speed: 13.3 Distance: 13 Avg HR: 145 Cal: 344 No food (1/2 cup coffee), recovery drink at end (180)

Wednesday I rescheduled the Chica ride, since Tuesday evening we met with Heather Wilson's reps, Carri and Colin. Nobody made the Chica ride, so I did a solo on the SS in the Foothills to try out the new 20 in back. What a difference that made!! With the 18, I was working way too hard...I couldn't gain any momentum on the climbs. The new ring makes SSing much more enjoyable! I spin a bit in the flats, but not to the point that it annoys me, so I guess that's a good thing! NOW I can see the enjoyment in a SS. Before, I was beginning to think it was just gonna be pure torture...kinda like intervals. ;o)

Anniversary Weekend

We went to Flagstaff this weekend...what a blast! It's been a long time since I've ridden out there, so it was an especially nice treat to be there. This was the anniversary celebration for Matt and me. What better spot to go? The weather was beautiful! Plus, there had been rain the past couple of days, so the trail conditions were superb. Nice, moist, tacky soil...perfect for mountain bikes! No pics from the Flag ride, but lots from Gallup...

We took off on Friday and stopped in Gallup to ride the trails out there. Matt took me on the loop used for the Dawn Til Dusk race, and then a little more.

Wow, these trails were really fun! Fast swoopy stuff with some small little technical challenges every once in a while, and views you wouldn't believe! There was a lot of TLC that went into building this trail system. Nice little details you wouldn't expect to see, like decorated cattleguards, custom-made trail signs, and miscellaneous trail sculptures/art. The town has taken a lot of pride in this area, and I'll definitely come back to ride this again! We got in about 20 miles in just short of 3 hrs of riding. We went at a pretty good clip (for me)...enough to make the legs tired!

The next day, Matt and I hit the trails in Flag. We had planned on doing a rather long 50-miler, but with pending storms brewing in the sky, we took an alternate route. We started from the hotel, took the road to Buffalo Park, and did the usual climb up Oldham...painful for me, I've done much better before. We rode Schultz Pass Road up to the top and climbed some roads out there before deciding it was time to head back down because of the storm clouds. We flew down Elden (fun, fast, swoopy, with rocky stuff here and there) and continued down Little Bear. Then came the climbing up Shultz Tank and Brookbank. That was a leg buster! After yesterday's intervals in Gallup (I did 3 rather hard intervals while out there), my legs were jelly...but I digress...we headed back from whence we came through Buffalo Park and back to the hotel. By that time, we were hauling on the road. I think we got up to around 27 mph in a couple of places. Not bad on a mountain bike! We ended up with about 40 miles today and 5000 ft of climbing...a new max for me. More pics and another write up on the trip are on Matt's Blog.

After the ride, it was time for a nice soak in the hot tub, then dinner at Alpine Pizza and beers (of course) at the Pay 'N Take.

More Rides

August 1 was the 14th anniversary for Matt and me. We're celebrating this weekend in Flagstaff! Should be a great time. We haven't ridden out there together this year, so should be a lot of fun. Got a smokin' deal on the Residence Inn (I'm crafty at these things, I tell ya!), so we'll be sleeping well! No noisy train, no funky bed.

So, Tuesday, Aug. 1, I did the Timid Tuesday ride. All my Chicas bailed on me, so I rode with the ride leader, Jim, Mitch, and Evan (kid from last week who lasted about 7 miles). I took the SS and had a great time! Evan actually rode the entire ride with us. He actually listened to me and didn't try to chase me on the climbs. Amazing what a little energy conservation for the body can do. We even took him up through the technical North Foothills, up to the watertower at the Tram, and down Dan's trail. I was impressed.

Got a good workout in with the SS. Still had a heck of the time with some of the climbing. Matt switched out the gear now, so I'll try that out. I'll suck on the flats, but I'd really like to try to nail more of those climbs!

Wednesday, Denise and I headed out on Dan's trail to La Cueva and on to Juan Tabo Basin. It was a shorter, hard ride today with lots of technical stuff and climbing (old pics, but you get the idea). Brought the Moots, but would have enjoyed the Intense in several areas. La Cueva and Juan Tabo have been beaten down by the rain leaving lots of water ruts, loose rock, and very difficult sections. Some areas are just new challenges. Other parts of the trail (water ruts) need some loving care...perhaps when the weather cools a bit.

Got home from the ride and Matt had just finished dinner! He had enough for three, so Denise hung out for dinner and then took off to learn how to kayak at a local pool.

Can't wait for the weekend in Flag!

East Mountains...no, wait, White Mesa

Recovering from Quemazon's beating on our legs yesterday, Denise and I had planned on another ride today in the East Mountains. We were thinking possibly Cedro, Otero or a 10K loop of some sort. Denise and I had coffee at Donna's before leaving Los Alamos yesterday, so neither of us got to sleep at a decent hour last night. We decided to meet at 10:30AM at Einstein's for the ride.

Both of us had been watching the weather and there was about a 60% chance of rain in the mountains. Marc, Denise's other half, was riding the White Mesa today, so we decided that may be a better bet. Afterall, looking out at the sky, there were storm clouds to the east, and blue sky with puffy white clouds over White Mesa....so that's where we went.

Interestingly, with all the cloud cover, the clouds never really seemed to block the sun today...except at the end of the ride. Regardless, we headed out on Dragon's back, leaving the very nicely built parking lot created by FooMTB. This was the first time I've been to White Mesa since the surgery. In fact, the last time I rode out here was with Matt and the KC boys--Scott, Brad, Q and Mike. Anyway, we finally approached the super steep hike-a-bike area and contemplated going around, rather than up. We'd always had a guy at the top of the climb who would pull our bikes up for us...we decided to give it a shot, and made it! Guess we had more upper body strength than we though we did. The pic doesn't do the climb justice, but if you see the trail in the upper left hand side of the 2nd image, you can get an idea of how steep the hike was.

It was a great time! As usual, White Mesa delivered the awesome scenery and climbs we needed to thoroughly wear us out. We did a LOT of climbing today. In fact, up to the soda dam area, we climbed BOTH ways to the top; 1 way on double track, the other way on the more traditional route. Why? Cuz we wanted to. We weren't pooped out at that point. We took a break at the high point; the very large sink hole--it had a lot more water in it than usual; refreshing pic, huh? Makes you want to go for a swim. Denise knows a rock climber and said she wanted to see him climb down the hole and back up again. I think it would be rather entertaining too. After a snack, we continued on...

We lucked out having Marc out there riding before us; we followed his tracks most of the day. While we knew the general routes through the White Mesa, there were some new areas I hadn't explored and Denise had only ridden once. Did I say that we did a LOT of climbing?!? With all the sun and probably some slight dehyrdration from yesterday's ride, we were not the fastest today, but we still managed a hard ride that left us feeling like we'd definitely gotten a very good workout for the day.

So, we stopped in Bernalillo for some beverages--yep, we finished off the Camelbaks today--then made it back to the cars. Matt had left me a message on the phone just about the time we were done unloading. He'd finished his day in Durango and was heading home.

Ride Stats

• Total time: 3:27 hrs (trail cleanup)
  
• Ride time: 2:33 hrs
  
• Distance: 15 miles
• Average speed: 6.7 mph
• Max speed: 24.3 mph
  
• Calories: 1231 (356 cal/hr)
  
• Average heart rate: 145
  

Los Alamos

I awoke to rain this morning. Its soft pattering on the windows was enough to make me want to curl up and sleep in...but today was a ride day, so up and at em'! Denise and I loaded up her car and headed out to Los Alamos for a dirt adventure on some super fun trail treasures with 2 friends of mine that I hadn't seen in ages--Donna (hadn't seen her in 2 years--GITA) and Carrie (hadn't seen her in about 1 year--Taos). They also had another friend along for the ride, Amy. Talk about some awesome riders!!

It turned out to be a perfect day for a ride in Los Alamos; the clouds were out, blocking the sun from our backs, and there was an occasional breeze to dry off our "glistening" bodies--as Denise would say.

Our ride started from Donna's place. We headed out on the Walnut Canyon Rim Trail and over to Bridges, then snaked our way through some residential areas to Quemazon Trail where we began an unbelievably fun climb loaded with technical, rocky terrain. After about 3 miles and around 1500 ft of climbing (in about 1.5 hrs!!), we'd gotten to the intersection of Quemazon and Pipeline Road. We headed down Pipeline, and hooked onto the Perimeter Trail. We continued on to Rendija Trail, heading down Shoeshine--one of my favorites--and down towards Bayo Trail (I think) and back to Donna's place for treats to reward us for our workout on the trails.

Back at Donna's, Scott and Joe were there with the BBQ grill fired up! We all got a hot shower and settled in for some bratwursts and chicken--can't beat that! We filled our stomachs with delicious food and beer and chatted the day away.

Got a call from Matt on the way home. He'd managed to head out on loop 1 of the Durango 100 course, then snaked over to loop 3 to avoid a pending rain storm that he managed to escape just in the nick of time. He'll be riding with Dave Harris tomorrow.

Denise and I are heading over to the East Mountains for a ride tomorrow. We'll see how I do with that one. I've gotten into the habit of abusing the hip during the weekend, then going lighter on it during the week with 1 tough ride somewhere in there. I'm going to start upper body weight lifting again too. I've been slacking in that area--weightlifting sucks.

Off to bed for some well-deserved zzzzz's.......more pics to come once Scott gets Carrie's pics up on his blog. ;o)

Ride Stats

• Ride time: ~2:33 hrs
• Total time: ~4 hrs
• Distance: ~19 miles
• Max speed: 33.4 mph
• Avg speed: 7 mph
• Avg heart rate: 146
• Calories: 1495 (373.75 cal/hr)
  

Girls on singlespeeds; you don't see that very often!

Tuesday night was the Chica ride and Paige and I were ready to roll with 1 other non-chica, Evan. Evan's a nice 19-year old kid that Matt and I met at our favorite restaurant, Il Vicino. Matt's been trying to get Evan into mountain biking and had suggested he show up for the FooMTB Timid Tuesday ride. Unfortunately, the ride was canceled at the last minute, so Evan joined Paige and me instead.

Rode the Intense tonight. I've been having problems with the shock not having enough sag. Called Progressive today and they gave me the correct psi for the shock (70-75 in the IFP; 90 in front). Then they recommended I ride it around a bit since the oil starts to settle if it hasn't been used in a while. The frame is an '03, so this could be the case.

After adjusting Evan's rear brakes so that they'd work, we were ready to roll. It started out with the typical warm-up along the paved Tramway bike path. Evan's first comment, "Hey, you guys are going a little slow, aren't you?" You can speed it up if you want." I told him that the first lesson in mountain biking is knowing how to conserve your energy; you should never go full blast at the beginning unless you know what you're getting into.

Well, Evan decided to chase me up the dirt climb to Elena. We got to the top of the climb and had to adjust Evan's rear derailleur (chain kept dropping). He insisted I didn't need to help, after all, "We're almost done with the ride, right?" I looked up at him kindly, replying, "Oh no, my friend, we've just started." Evan managed to tough it out for the next couple miles. Eventually, he'd had enough and we took him back to a good turn around point. I think he managed a good 7 mile ride. Not bad for his first time out on the mountain bike. He's got great skill. If he keeps this up, he'll be the one dropping me on the trail very soon.

Paige and I got in a great 14 mile ride; total time-2:12; ride time-1:41 (fixing the derailleur for the most part); avg speed-8.2 mpg; max speed-26 mph; avg heart rate-136; calories burned-710.

Wednesday rolls around and it's time to ride with speedy Chica, Denise! We decided to singlespeed through the Foothills. We headed up Dan's trail, which is a tad on the painful side for starting a ride--no warmup, just instant climbing! Anyway, headed over to Elena, did the little whoopdie-dos and headed back to the house via the water tower again.

Holy cow did I ride hard!! Denise is super fast, so I cranked it as hard as I could. I managed to match the pace on my hardest road ride so far since the surgery. I manage one advantage with my tiny 24" wheels...I can accelerate extremely fast. Matt noticed it as did Denise. I notice it on the flats especially. I think I am going to have Matt help me get 1 easier gear for climbing though...at least until I build my strength back up. I can't climb the steep stuff, as hard as I try...even standing up. So, we finished the ride and stopped to catch our breath at the water tower where we ran into a group of 3 or 4 guys...can't remember now. They were stunned to see a couple of chicks on singlespeeds--"You don't see that very often," they noted. :)

SS Stats

• Total time: 1:31 hrs (no ride time, don't have a bike computer on the SS)
• Average heart rate: 160
• Calories: 620

Awesome ride, sore hip, smile on the face. Guess that's what it's all about!!

Taos: Mondragon--South Boundary Ride

Went up to Taos today with Matt and Denise. I only semi-remembered the route, so Denise was coming along for the ride and to help me recall all the turns...we figure 2 heads are better than 1?? We'll see next time we take the route on our own!

So we started out from the SBT parking area, taking the road about 7 miles up to the Mondragon Trail Head. We climbed, climbed and climbed some more up to the SBT. From there we did a tad more climbing and then had super fun technical downhill for the rest of they way out. Matt took me on this route a little over a month ago. I've got some great pics at that link.

Beautiful day to ride, but my legs sure got a workout!! After yesterday's climbing at Santa Fe, I had lactic acid in the quads all stinking day! I definitely built some muscle today. I also found a new limit for the ole' hip. It was pretty sore from yesterday, and now it's very sore...good news though; I rode more of the technical downhill stuff on South Boundary than last time!! We had a hint of rain on the way down, but it decided to leave with only a few drops. Much dryer than the ride yesterday in Santa Fe with Paige!

As always, we finished the ride with a visit to Eske's for dinner and beer, then went home to Albuquerque. Tomorrow is going to be a very well-earned rest day!

Ride Stats

• Ride time: 3:33 hrs
  
• Total time: 4:26 hrs
  
• Distance: 27.4 miles
  
• Elevation climb: 3600 ft
  
• Average speed: 7.7 mph
• Max speed: 37 mph
  
• Average heart rate: 146
  
• Calories: 1569
  

Santa Fe Ski Area Loop

Paige and I decided to take a ride out in Santa Fe. It’s a loop I’ve done several times with Sue, but this time, Paige and I decided to add on some more miles by starting at the Chamisa Trail Head. We started up an immediate climb that would bring anyone’s heart rate to inhuman levels. Thank goodness, that plateaus after about 15 minutes or so.

We took Chamisa to the Windsor Trail, and from there, I started dealing with a slow leak in the rear tire. I kept hopping off the bike and pumping the tire up with air hoping the Stan’s would fill the leak—no luck. I eventually had to hop of the bike and deal with removing a tubeless tire off its rim…not easy at all. Eventually, some guys came biking by and were able to get the thing off from me, and I was good to go from there. Yes, I played the “helpless female” because I was sick and tired of working on the thing…being a chick has its advantages. Turns out Stan’s wasn’t working because it had turned into some sort of fungi looking Stan’s turd rather than the nasty milky/oily substance it normally is. Guess it’s time to add new Stan’s in the front tire if the rear is like that already.

Well, with totally cold legs by now, we headed back out on Windsor to the Big Tesuque Trail, coming out at Hyde Park Road and the little camping/picnic area. Great spot for a quick pit stop, then on with the ride. The temps were remarkably nice and the shade on the trails was very pleasant. Some storm clouds were brewing far off in the skies, but for the most part, bright blue! We made it up to Aspen Vista Road and climbed and climbed (Matt says about 4000 foot elevation for us today!!) until we were ALMOST at the radio towers ready to take Sunset Trail at the Santa Fe Ski area down to the ski base and then hook back into Windsor from the road.

Unfortunately, the last of the plan was foiled by rain, and lots of it!! We decided, smartly, to turn around on Aspen Vista Road. We took that to Hyde Park Road and had to take pavement back to the car. On Aspen Vista Road (dirt road that is no longer accessible by motor vehicle), we got a nice down pour. It caught everyone by surprise. I was shocked at the number of bikers, hikers, dogs, babies, kids—you name it—out there on the trail still! Everyone was making a mad dash back to the base. Well, it was a good ride nevertheless!

We topped off the bellies at the Santa Fe Bakery. I had a burrito and Paige had a chicken wrap. Excellent food! I brought home some good fruit bars for breakfast tomorrow and Paige snagged some croissants. Good enough to call it a day!!

Ride Stats

• Ride Time: 3:23 hrs
• Total Time: 5:30 hrs (my flat didn’t help matters)
• Distance: 24 miles
• Average speed: 7.8
  
• Average heart rate: 148
  
• Calories: 1706

Am I Stronger Than Before?

8 months after the periacetabular osteotomy, and I'm feeling great! Today was another "first" as I made it up the La Luz hill climb on the road. I did the new Triple Lindy: Tramway from the Casino, La Luz, then up to the Tram and home.

Here's the coolest part...even before my hip started hurting, I usually had to stand in the saddle for most of La Luz. Plus, my typical speed was about 4.3 to 4.8 mph. Today, I sat during the entire climb except for the very last, super steep climb. My typical speed except for that section was about 5.5, dropping once to 5.0 mph.

I managed to wait out the rain for the most part, but got a slightly later start than I wanted. Light drizzle on the way down to Tramway and back up again, but afterwards, nice and dry! Got home and Matt was already starting dinner. What a sweetie, he's done the grocery shopping and made dinner every night this week!

Ride Stats

• Total time: 1:26 hrs
• Ride time: 1:24 hrs (stop light at the Casino, and a short break at the top of La Luz for a drink)
• Average speed: 11.8 mph
• Maximum speed: 46.5 mph (tail wind heading down Tramway)
• Distance: 16.5 miles
• Average heart rate: 160 (holy cow, that's high!!)
• Calories: 618

I'm getting good at the short, hard rides, so the next thing I need to build back up is my endurance. That's it for the ride report. I'm off to bed...I'm beat from the ride!

More Rain!

Well, today was the Chica Ride--me and Sue. We are the original Chicas, and it's fitting that we got to do a ride together today, especially since her days are numbered with that bun in the oven. Drat! I hate it when my bike friends get pregnant!!!!

So, I was on the singlespeed today and Sue felt like kicking my ass and taking advantage of me (okay, she's really not like that). We headed up Dan's trail and I made my best go at it. I actually made some climbs I didn't think I could do, but I also had to walk some sections. Definitely a challenge to be conquered! We made it to the water tower when the lightning started rolling in. Sue and I have ridden many a time in the rain, but lightning is a true sign it's time to call it quits. We didn't get too far past the North Foothills when we turned around and took road back to the house. Still got in a decent 50 minute ride (an not much gabbing today), so not bad at all.

I jumped on the elliptical machine as soon as I got home and did 25 minutes on it. 5 minutes of warmup, then 20 minutes with 40/80 intervals. 40 seconds as fast and hard as I could go, then 80 seconds rest. Back and forth...in the 40 seconds, I could get the heart rate up to 170, then drop to about 150 in the 80 break. As would be expected, I couldn't hit the 170 each time...slowly I dropped during the 40 intervals until the highest I could get was 167. Definitely a good workout! Not much fun though.

Some sad news in the biking community. A woman I've heard much about but didn't know personally, Paula Higgins, was hit by a car and killed yesterday. It's a reminder that we always have to be careful when riding on the road. A few times while on the road I've darted through a yellow light, sped through a 4-way intersection, etc. Losing a few seconds of momentum or having to unclip out of the pedals is a simple inconvenience compared to losing my life. Lesson learned.

Breckenridge Weekend and a Monday Night Ride

Did I mention that my husband is a freakin' stud?!? Check out these stats for the Breckenridge 100! The race started with 98 people. 40+ didn't even have it in them to finish. Matt finished, and got 6th in his division, and 17th overall!! OMG, my man is pretty damn scary!

So, we were in Breckenridge for the weekend at the Beaver Run Resort, and I crewed for Matt. Cool thing is, we ran into some KC boys, Brad was racing, Joel was crewing for Brad. Joel, an employee at the Trek store in KS and a partner in the Heartland Mountain Bike Race group, had a nice little tent set up and all the tools a good mechanic should have. He let me camp out at his site and we chatted the day away. Joel is just what you'd expect from a KC bike boy...a tad on the nutty side and totally in love with the boutique singlespeed and 29er.

Here's Matt's blog post on the race to get the whole story.

So today, I did a ride with Denise! It's been ages since we've been able to ride together, cause she's crazy fast and until now, there was no chance in keeping up with her. I'm still a slug, but not too far in her dust. We went out and did a Tunnel/Otero loop--talk about a workout! First time I've been out there since the surgery. I'm nice and sore right now, but only in the hip joint. The muscles seem to be just fine right now, but we'll see in the morning. I think we're going to make our rides a weekly event, so I'll have a hammer partner 1 day a week, the fun Chica ride another day, then I'll be commuting to work (after August 8 when I move to a new work building much closer to home), plus I'll do some hard solo rides on the road as well. Riding is starting to get back into full speed! King of the Mountain may be a fun Denise ride for next week--I haven't done this ride since the surgery either. I'm really ready to start testing the waters. :)

So, here are the ride stats for tonight--

• Ride time--1:12 hrs
• Total time--1:37 hrs (hey, a girl has to have *some* gossip time)
• Avg heart rate--152 (that's pretty high for me!)
• Avg speed--7.2 mph
  
• Distance--9.82 miles
  
• Calories--671

Timid Tuesdays and Such

Yesterday, new FooMTB member Jim led the first FooMTB Timid Tuesday ride. Had the Chicas (Paige and me) not been there, only Randy would have shown up for the ride. I'm one of the most positive, upbeat people in the world, but this is starting to piss me off. So, members of the club bitch and moan because we don't have easy rides for them...we establish one, and only 1 person shows up?!? What a bunch of freakin' whiny-assed babies. Really...and they're almost all guys too (not that it should matter, but stereotypically, you expect guys to have some balls and get out and ride if they claim to be mountain bikers--LOSERS! Posers!). No excuses!!

An old member from Save Otero, Gary, once told us how tough it was to be part of a bike club. I thought he was filled with negativity and bad vibes, talking about how much work it is, how lame and worthless people can be, and how much it wears you down and tires you out. I have to say, he was right. I was thoroughly optimistic and totally clueless when it came to understanding what it takes to lead people. I now understand. Maybe I'll remove these first 2 paragraphs from my blog later, but for now, it's how I feel and I'm tired of shutting up about it. I can't even get people to volunteer to help for the IMBA Trail Crew visit. So far, 5 people. That's it. Out of a club of over 70?!?

UPDATE: Okay, so I feel better now. I know that people in Albuquerque are naturally apathetic. It's just something I all have to get used to. I won't let it get to me anymore. Some people volunteered to help with the IMBA Trail Crew visit at the last FooMTB club, which is great! I won't be the one requesting visits anymore in the future though. Someone else will have to be in charge of that.
So, now that I feel only mildly better after venting, I did have an excellent ride. Jim's a great guy and the perfect person to lead the Timid Tuesday ride. He's mild-mannered, easy going, and a fun person to hang around with. We headed toward Elena, did some loops around that area, then finished up by riding to the water tower and through Dan's trail back to the old Circle K. My bike computer kept shutting off and I'd forget to turn it on, but the stats, as far as I can tell are as follows:

• 13-15 miles (computer kept turning off)
• 8 mph avg
• 2:30 total time
• Calories burned: 801

I ran into some female bikers while we were out there, Ada, Stacy and Katie. I'm hoping maybe we can do a ride sometime together. It's always good to see strong women riders on the trails!

So, to recap on the fitness thing, biked road on Saturday, mountain on Sunday, bike rollers on Monday, Timid Tuesday ride, bike rollers Wednesday. Thursday is gonna be a rest day. Not sure what I'll do Friday yet. Matt and I will be heading to the Breckenridge 100. Matt's gonna be racing, I'll do some solo riding on my own. Should be nice. I hope it's dry!!

Oh, this has nothing to do with my post, but I love this pic!! Matt took it on his last ride in Placitas with Nate. I hope I never see one of those on a ride. Yeck!

Juan Tabo & the Foothills

Did a big ride with Sue and Paige today. We had wanted to go to Santa Fe to do the Borrego, Windsor, Big Tesuque, Aspen Vista Rd and back ride, but we were nervous about pending rain. Bummer...we're quickly approaching the last time we'll be able to do a long ride with Sue for a VERY long time. She's pregnant and won't be able to do the tough stuff much longer. Plus, after the baby comes, she's going to be moving to Oregon! :o( I'm bummed that I forgot the camera today--am including some pics from the past.

So we headed out to Juan Tabo, but didn't actually climb it. The trail out there was pretty washed out and technical. It made for a very tough ride for Sue, so we took the road back and headed to Elena. Got up to the top and took a break at the covered picnic tables, then headed on toward the Montgomery trailhead. We dropped Sue at this point and she headed back to the car. Paige and I carried on to the South Foothills, getting as far as the white water tower near the Indian School trailhead. Tired legs had done us in, so we decided to call it a day and head back. Took pavement from Comanche back to the house, using the dirt trail that parallels Tramway as much as we could.

Great day for a ride! A tad humid, but as long as you were moving, not bad at all. The trail was great! Tacky, and perfect for some fast cornering today. We got back to the house just as a storm was moving in, which was great timing! Paige wanted to try a taco joint called Bumble Bee's Baja Grill, which is very much like Taco Tote. I had a fish taco (mahi-mahi NOT fried, yum!) for a snack, figuring I'd eat dinner later with Matt, who was out riding in the East Mountains today. It really hit the spot!

Ride stats for the day weren't too bad, 26 miles, 3:22 hours ride time, and about 1400 calories burned away!!

There's the first FooMTB Timid Tuesday ride day coming up, so the Chica Ride will be joining this one next week...should be fun!

My Morning with the Congresswoman

Every time I get annoyed by politicians (and that's pretty easy to do), Congresswoman Heather Wilson does something that makes me think that perhaps our political system can work.

This time, she has managed to get $300K to support an addition to the DIRT Bosque trail!! The deal needs to go through on the final Transportation Appropriations bill, but if it does, we're getting some new trail! This will be an extension to the very very cool little Bosque trail network that you can zip around in within 2 hrs. Heather would like to see the trail extended all the way to Corrales at least--this is great!

We got a brief chance to discuss Otero Canyon as well. Heather feels that the current Air Force folks in charge (those much further up the chain of command than anyone at KAFB) understand the "common sense" issues about the fence. She believes that there are a few areas that should be protected/secured, but feels that if a fence goes up, most of the trails will be saved. She still seems to be leaning toward no fence, especially since DOE isn't interested in building a fence around their part of the land, which is the only way the KAFB/DoD fence can be a real fence. Without DOE cooperation, KAFB would essentially be erecting a fence that secures and contains nothing. It just stops, allowing anyone to continue beyond it if they felt like it. We have another base commander coming to KAFB too...that will make #4 since this issue first started in 2003.

• Colonel Kathleen D. Close, January 25, 2002 - July 10, 2003
• Colonel Henry L. Andrews, Jr., July 10, 2003 - July 7, 2005
• Colonel Terrence A. Feehan, July 7, 2005 - Present

Heather said that the new BC could make things easy and decide not to have a fence at all, which she would prefer. If he decides to listen to the current civilian employees at KAFB rather than his Congresswoman, she will still ensure the final decision goes to the Secretary of the AF rather than the locals.

So, today, I biked from the house to the Bosque trail to meet Heather and others who were invited to go on a short ride/walk. Turns out the press was there (Channel 4 and 13). Heather gave a quick press conference, then she had Diane Scena, Trails Planner for the Mid-Regin Council of Governments; Tom Baltes (in the pic above), president of the Double Eagle Hike and Bike Club; and me, representing IMBA and FooMTB speak to the press as well.

It started raining by the time we were ready to head out, so we split up. Heather and family went home, Tom and his wife Louise continued for a 6-mile walk, and I took off for Bernalillo on NM313. It kept raining as I biked, but I thought it might turn to a light drizzle...no such luck, so I eventually headed home, did a spin on the flat Tramway to Elena, then headed up and back to the house. I think I got about 35 miles in, although the bike computer stopped while I was with Heather and it didn't restart on its own like it's supposed to.

Tomorrow I'm doing a ride with Paige and Sue. We had wanted to go to Santa Fe, but the rain is just too much! I'm thrilled we have it, so I won't complain. We're going to ride Juan Tabo and all the Foothills instead...the soil should be great with all the rain we've had.