Tag: bike

2010 Assault on Pikes Peak

I had a few reasons for wanting to ride the 1st Annual Assault on Pikes Peak. One is the fear of Towne’s Pass, a 13 mile, 3900 foot climb that starts at mile 200 of Furnace Creek 508. I thought the Pikes Peak climb, 7700 feet in 24.5 miles would be good training for that. To simulate the fatigue of mile 200, I rode a fast 200k the day before. Second, bikes aren’t normally allowed on the road to Pikes Peak so the opportunity to bike up while the road was closed to cars sounded like fun. Third, although I’ve lived less than 100 miles from Pikes Peak for 19 years, I’ve never been to the top, or to the top of any mountain over 14,000 feet. Bike, instead of hike up, even better!

In spite of the previous day’s 200k ride, I felt surprisingly good on Sunday morning. By the 7:00am start in Manitou Springs the sun was shining and I left my arm warmers in the car. I hesitated, remembering I’d worn my jersey with very large back pockets just so I’d have room for things like that, and thinking that the temps might be considerably colder on the mountain, but decided I’d be working hard so I’d stay warm. I started at the very back of the pack with nearly all 260+ riders in front of me because I didn’t want to sprint off the start line, and it’s motivating for me to work my way past other riders. We quickly hit steeper grades when leaving Manitou and heading onto Highway 24 and I was spinning easily in my 24.5 inch low gear.

It was a beautiful morning and a beautiful ride with no vehicles on the road other than those associated with the race. Before Glen Cove we arrived at the two and a half mile unpaved stretch and the wind started to pick up. Oh yeah, wind. I’d been expecting high winds on the ride, but hadn’t given it much thought for the first 15 miles. After Glen Cove we started up switchbacks and the wind got stronger. In fact, the wind seemed to increase in ferocity the entire way up, then strangely, at the summit, it was relatively calm. The race summary on OutThere.com reported the wind speed as 30-45mph. I would have guessed in the 20’s, but I’m not good at estimating since the wind speeds recorded in my area seem to be measured from some calmer-than-average spot and I do not own an anemometer. Needless to say the windchill felt significantly colder than the predicted high 40’s-50 degree temperature and I was wishing for my arm warmers. Since I didn’t bring them I had a good reason to stay on my bike and keep moving.

Although I live at 9000 feet, and regularly ride up to 10,000, I know from the years I was training for ultraruns and frequently went up to 12,500 feet, that above 12,000 feet things start getting weird for me. Once I saw the sign for 12,000+ feet elevation, I started paying more attention to my heart rate and stayed just below 80%. Actually I found the altitude a little easier to deal with on my bike than hiking, probably because I was sitting down. Still between the wind, the exposed mountain road with no guard rail, and lower oxygen levels it was a bit surreal. I was anxious to get to the top and get my drop bag with warm clothes, but kept a moderate pace, knowing if I pushed too hard and had to stop, I’d be even colder.

The summit seemed to come quickly. Although in reality a lot of time passed climbing at such a slow speed. My official time was 3:54. I’d hoped to finish in under 4 hours so I was happy. I found my drop bag, bundled up and started back down. The first few thousand feet of the descent were the only part of the ride I did not enjoy. Hopefully I will get to bike up Pikes Peak again. It was a really nice way to spend the morning!

Photo gallery of the event.

There were a number of challenged athletes participating in the 2010 Assault on Pikes Peak, including the handcyclist pictured here. Yes, he rode all the way to the top!! Several were disable veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. I’m raising money for the Challenged Athletes Foundation in conjunction with riding Furnace Creek 508. If you’d like to help these and other disabled athletes you can donate here.

Hill Junkie wrote a far more dramatic and interesting report about Pikes Peak with photos! I don’t agree that there were any 13% grades on the ride, but with the headwind the 8-10% sections felt much steeper. He also discusses the electric bikes that were used by several riders. I think Pikes Peak offered a good demonstration of the capabilities of electric bikes, but as far as the results, all electric bikes should probably be treated as a separate division.

My favorite rides: Sangre de Cristo 600k

The Sangre de Cristo 600k starts and ends in Taos, New Mexico. It’s long, but you don’t have to do the entire thing at once. As I said near the end of the ride, I think this is ten of the best rides I’ve ever done all strung together!

Dist: ~375 mi / 600 km (the map is a little off)
Ascent: 16800 ft / 5100m (per MapMyRide)
(Note: MapMyRide.com tends to underestimate ascent and steepness of climbs. The longer the ride, the more it underestimates. I think this ride could have 1.5-2 times that much elevation gain, based on shorter rides I’ve done that were reported to have 15,000-18,000 feet. My HRM, which also usually underestimates elevation, reported about 19,000 ft.)

Pros:

  • Beautiful desert and mountain scenery and quaint rural New Mexican villages.
  • Mostly rural route.
  • Considerate drivers.
  • Friendly people.
  • Clean bathrooms. (Well, a couple weren’t so nice, but there were some very nice bathrooms at places I never would have expected.)
  • Long climbs.

Cons:

  • There are some LONG stretches between water stops out-and-back from Sapello. I had to resort to knocking on a farmhouse door when my bottles were nearly dry. When no one answered I filled up from their hose bibb.
  • While riding 522 was not nearly as bad as I expected, (It was actually beautiful on Sunday morning riding from Arroyo Hondo to Wild Rivers Park) the ride from Costilla back to Questa was flat and hot and boring. Thank goodness for those considerate drivers, and friendly people at water stops, or it could have been even more unpleasant.
  • I would probably skip Sapello if I didn’t have a good reason to visit.
  • Going over mountain passes early or late in the day can be very cold even in the middle of summer. Be prepared!
  • If you’re vegan you should probably plan to carry all your own food. ; )
     

The MapMyRide map above gives an idea of the route, but is a little off from the cue sheet.

Great rides within this ride:

  • Costilla to Amalia, out-and-back.
  • Wild Rivers Park spur from 522. Not the most scenic. It’s nice, but the best part of this ride is the smooth pavement and little traffic.
  • Taos to Taos Ski Area to Arroyo Seco to Questa to Red River.
  • Red River to Eagles Nest to Cimmaron to Eagles Nest
  • Eagles Nest to Taos.
  • Taos to Angel Fire. (Yes, it’s pretty much the same as the one above, but backwards.)
  • Eagles Nest to Angel Fire to Mora.
  • Out-and-back on either part of the loop between Mora and Sapello, but not all the way to Sapello.
  • Mora to Taos.

There are so many beautiful sections of this route, it’s hard to pick a few as my favorites. Between Angel Fire and Mora the ride passes through through Coyote Creek State Park for few miles. It was a very fun, windy, tree-lined descent, along a creek, that reminded me a little of the Old San Antonio Road on the Hill Country 600k. The climb from Mora, towards Sapello is very, steep and challenging. My favorite climb was probably the seemingly endless one that goes west of Mora towards Taos. The out-and-back from Eagles Nest to Cimmaron is memorable too, though if I was just out for a short ride I might turn around at the end of the new pavement in Cimmaron Canyon State Park. The ride from Taos Ski Valley through Arroyo Seco to 522 was very beautiful in the morning light.

Within this 600k route are lots of possibilities for a 20-50 mile ride or a multi-day tour.

Home is just over that “hill”
East of Costilla
West of Amalia
West of Amalia
West of Amalia
Red River
West of Red River
South of Eagles Nest
Coyote Creek
Sheared alpaca
East of Mora

My favorite rides: Arreau-Aspin-Tourmalet

This is an out-and-back route that starts in Arreau, France, crosses over the Col d’Aspin, then climbs to the top of the Col du Tourmalet and turns around back to Arreau.

Dist: 54 mi / 86 km
Ascent: 8400 ft / 2500m

Pros:
– It’s in the Pyrenees on a roads that have many times been part of the route of the Tour de France.
– Good pavement.
– Good climbs.
– Beautiful rural scenery and picturesque French towns.
– French bicycling road signs which give regular statistics about the upcoming grade.

Cons:
– I can’t think of any negatives about this ride, but it is rural France, so depending on time of day, time of year, etc., it may be difficult to find replenishment on the route. Plan accordingly.

Informational sign on Col d’Aspin
Arreau from Col d’Aspin
Near the summit of Col d’Aspin
Near the summit of the Col du Tourmalet
View from the Col du Tourmalet
Col du Tourmalet summit
2009 TdF riders pass through Gripp, enroute to the Tourmalet

2010 24 Hours of ERock

It’s no secret that I’m not much of a mountain biker. After last year’s 24 Hour of Grand Targhee I said, “No more mountain bike races! … with one exception ERock!” 24 Hours of ERock is only a couple hours from home and I really enjoyed it last year. The event is relatively low key. The other riders are all super-friendly and supportive. The atmosphere reminds me of a road bike ultra, with a lot more dust and loud music.

Last year’s ERock was the first race of any kind I’d ever won so it was odd for me to be in the position of having other racers wanting to “beat” me. While I do prefer winning to not, I always set my goals for a race independent of other riders. I don’t want to feel like my goal is out-of-reach before the start if say, Kristin Armstrong decides to come out of retirement and try her legs at ultracycling. It’s important for me to have a goal that is both challenging and attainable. I need a target that can motivate me even if I’m out classed by the field or if no other riders show up. I’d finished 25 laps in 2009. My goal for this year was 29 laps…actually it was originally 27, then 28, then a few weeks before the race I thought I had an outside chance at getting 29.

The women’s field was much stronger this year than last. Six solo women started, as opposed to four in 2009. The sixth place woman rode one more lap than the second place woman in 2009. Optic Nerve sponsored XC rider, Kim Godfrey, finished second. Elizabeth Boese who’s started focusing on 12 and 24 hour MTB races and posting some good results, finished third. I was also impressed with the 4th place woman, who rode continuously for 24 hours with only short breaks, and finished her last lap during the last hour. I have great respect for someone with the inner will to get out there for one final lap when it makes no difference in the overall results. I’ve only managed it once in five 24-hour MTB races.

The race begins with a Le Mans start. That means running. If I could still run without hip pain I’d probably not be biking so much, and if I wanted to run with a bike I’d do cyclocross. I tried to line up out-of-the-way, as close to the front as possible, planning to run/walk only fast enough to get me to the bike mounting area not too far behind the next-to-last racer.

The first few laps I was going too hard and was trying to ratchet back my effort on the climb. After a couple laps, Jen told me I was in second by a few minutes, and I said something brilliant like, “I’m not going to catch her by riding faster.” Meaning I didn’t think I had as much speed as some of the other women so I’d need to make up time in other ways. I was pretty surprised when I passed Elizabeth after a few more laps. I think it was all due to Jen, who was crewing me. It was so windy last year that we’d decided not to bother with a tent and crew from her s.u.v. in the parking lot. She set an alarm to meet me beside the trail after each lap with fresh batteries and bottles and we were doing fairly fast pit stops. I have no doubt that Jen’s work during the race was worth at least two laps.

I’ve done most of my training on my road bike this year, which meant I had plenty of pedal revolutions in my legs, but almost no time on my mountain bike. I think my longest mountain bike ride since Targhee, last August, was 1.5 hours. And I’d only ridden that long once. Halfway through the race my butt was uncomfortable, but my hands and arms were hurting so much I did not see how I’d be able to continue for 12 more hours. Near the end of the race, I was reminded of ultrarunner Ann Trason’s quote, “It hurts up to a point and then it doesn’t get any worse.” My hands and arms still hurt, but not any worse. And my neck and shoulders felt a little better.

By the time I’d finished 21 laps, about 16 hours into the race, I’d built up a bit of a lead, and it was a good thing. During the 21st lap I’d started feeling very dizzy and by the end of the lap I felt like I was going to pass out. I signaled Jen to meet me at the car. I laid down and tried to figure out what was wrong. My symptoms were similar to the time I’d gotten hyponatremia at Barr Trail Mountain Race (how I managed that during a 13 mile run is another story) so I thought I might have had too much water. Then Jen said, “I’ve only used one gallon of water and a half bag of ice.” I hadn’t drunk all of that. That meant I’d had less than 10 ounces of fluid per hour. Even for me, mostly riding at night, that was not enough water. I drank some plain water, took a couple more Endurolytes, and felt a little better after a few minutes. After about a 30 minute break, I headed back out, but I was very conscious of keeping my effort relaxed and drinking lots of fluid. I felt better, but I had to stop and pee on every one of my last seven laps.

Jen had more confidence than I. I didn’t know until after the race that after my first lap she’d predicted on her Facebook page that I’d meet my goal of 29 laps. Between laps 16 and 25 I thought there was no way I’d come close. I was just slogging away, one lap at a time.

I’m guessing this really was my last mountain bike race. If for no other reason than I don’t expect my 20 year-old Kona with the patched together Marzocchi Z2 Bomber to survive another 24-hour race. In fact I was pretty surprised to get through this race with no major mechanical failures.

ERock is a fun, smoothly organized event. I was especially happy to see more solo women out there challenging themselves and doing strong rides!

Some good photos of the race by ultrarob. More ERock photos by camrewop.