Celebrate it or Ignore it

I'm reading, again, Tom Robbins "Fierce Invalids Home from Hot Climates" and there was a line in there which I read last night regarding the weather.  There are only two things to do about the weather, celebrate it or ignore it.  

Great sentiment and quite timely for me as I'm getting a little nervous about the upcoming weather for the race.  We've had a pretty unstable weather pattern over the west that doesn't show any signs of improving any time soon.  What we need is a big old high pressure dome to settle in and just keep all the junk out but it is still a little early in the spring for that to happen.   Snow is in the forecast for Gallup this coming Saturday but it is a little too early to prognosticate much past that.  I guess I should just ignore it then and see what the next ten days bring.

I can't seem to find any past results for the Dawn-til-Dusk so I'm not sure how many laps I need to finish to be competitive. I'm racing in the +50 category and hoping to finish at least 8 (104 miles).  Hopefully that will be enough to put in a good showing.

I think I have the long now I have to get the fast but damn intervals are so boring . . .

I observed a strange phenomena on my ride to work today. Invariably I pass numerous runners along my commute especially along the river park and as I approach the university. By far the majority of the younger runners, in their twenties (or younger), all seem to be women. Don't get me wrong,  I'm not complaining but it seems odd that there are so far fewer men of that age running.  Are they just not keeping fit,  or do they exercise in other ways?

Conversely,  most of the older runners (of my age or there abouts) are by far men.  So is it some fallout from Title IX manifesting itself or are there other reasons why so many younger women run than men? 

New wheels or new bike ?

Took a day off yesterday, after my long, singlespeed epic on Sunday so body and legs felt incredibly rested and strong. If I wasn't commuting, I may have even run up the intensity level somewhat. As it was, I kept it moderate for most of the commute. What a day, temperature in the low forties to start. I donned some bib shorts, base layer, jersey and arm warmers to complete the ensemble. Started off a little chilly but warmed up nicely after about 15 minutes staying comfortable for the rest of my ride in to work.

Not sure if it is me, getting stronger, or my bike getting older, but I noticed the last few times I've ridden that when I really try to put the hammer down the rear end seems a little sluggish. It doesn't have the same responsiveness I remember it once having. Time to test ride a few bikes? Sure, my beloved wife will really take to that idea. We who are trying so hard to get out of debt sinking a couple of grand into a new bike . . . there it goes do you see it that lead balloon . . . maybe I just need a new set of wheels. . . that does seem to be where the lag is coming from.

I seem to remember bonktown.com having a set of FSA RD600 on sale for around $350.00. I may be better able to talk the fair one into that investment rather than ten times that for a new bike . . . now if they just come around again on bonktown . . .

But that is some funky flange design on the RD600, maybe I better shop around a little.

Thanks for the help, Weekend training

Just want to give a shout out to the guy in the Slipstream jersey who took turns pulling with me down Moore road on my ride home Friday night. I was grinding out the last few miles of my longer commute when I came upon two riders ahead of me. I caught them and enjoyed a little pull up the road until it was safe to pass them. A few seconds after I went by, the lead rider of the two caught me and moved in front of me so we traded pulls for a few miles which really made the ride easier. After a quick nod and "good work" he dropped back, I assume to wait for his buddy while I continued on the long, gradual descent down Thornydale to home with a satisfied smile on my face. . .

Saturday found me knocking out some of my "honey-do" list and just generally being lazy. Two movie night, Role Models (hilarious) and Milk (not hilarious, though well acted). The only effort I put into my riding, was getting everything ready for the long ride on Sunday.

Sunday dawned bright, and I found myself chomping at the bit to ride. So out to Willow Springs for a couple of laps around the 24 Hour course. Halfway around the first lap, I tried to unclip to open one of the cattle gates, couldn't get my right foot out and went down hard on my right forearm. After several minutes of cussing and kicking at the ground, I inspected my pedal and found that it essentially had imploded. Two of the four fixing bolts that connect the cage to the spindle had come out, both on the same side causing a catastrophic failure. I was able to remove the cleat anchor and hold the pedal together with some wire that I found near the gate. When I finished the first lap, I was able to use the lug wrench from my car to bend the cage back to its mostly normal shape. Then used one of the four fixing bolts from the other pedal to hold everything together, minus the cleat anchor.

As a result, I rode my second lap half clipped-in and half out, which wasn't bad until I nearly busted a nut negotiating a sketchy section of trail when my non-clipped foot slipped off the pedal and I came down hard on the saddle followed by some more of the aforementioned cussing . . .

I managed to ride my four plus hours, singlespeed no less, and felt really good. Had plenty of leg left to keep going and I may have if I had two fully functional pedals but with the recent nut-busting still etched in my mind, I felt it better to leave well enough alone and call it a day.

On my second lap, I saw two rattlesnakes; one about a three footer crossing the trail that got kind of pissed when I came near, he curled and rattled as I gave him a wide girth. Then I saw just the tail end of another, as he cruised into the underbrush alongside the trail and he was a monster. His rattle alone was at least three of four inches long. If you are riding in Southern Arizona beware, they are out and about . . .

Starting to feel optimistic about the upcoming race, I think I'm almost ready.

Singlespeed or Geared ?

That is the question I hope to answer over the next two weekends as I wind-up then wind-down for the Dawn til Dusk 12 Hour Race. Trying to get two good four to six hour rides in over the next two weekends (to go along with all my garbage miles). I hear the Willow Springs area, the site of the 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo , calling me out. It is the perfect place to ride singlespeed, mostly flat (12oo ft of elevation gain/lap), fast singletrack. The Dawn til Dusk course gains about 1600 ft per lap with a pretty similiar profile so it should be a good test of my legs on the singlespeed.

I guess the real question is why, for my first solo endurance race, am I even toying with the idea of singlespeed ? I mean I'm not a complete endurance neophyte. I've done several 24 Hour races as part of a five person team and one as a duo. I've never done any on a singlespeed and have only recently become involved in the "singlespeed scene". I've done a few centuries, on the road. So I know how to suffer and have fun at the same time and that is ultimately what it is all about for me, fun. Will I get that on my singlespeed? Maybe after this weekend I'll know a little more.

Riding to work today, I thought how fortunate I am to live in a place where riding is a 365 day a year option. Today's forecast, for the first day of spring, highs in the mid-80's today, no rain, a few high clouds, just absolutley perfect riding weather. I left the house this morning around 7:25 with the sun trying to burn off the cloud cover that kept our overnight temperatures in the sixties in just my shorts and short-sleeve jersey. A little cool starting out but after ten minutes I was perfectly comfortable. I rode a moderate pace most of the way and felt okay, not real strong but fine. This afternoon I plan to take the long way home, 27 miles, before my rest day tomorrow. Legs should be fine for Sunday's big ride . . .