the tao of cycling: 150 miles and no major climbs

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

150 miles and no major climbs

I have a collection of beautiful, amazing, nutty, a little bit crazy, terrific cycling friends.
I met them through a winter indoor cycling program we've all done over the years, some of them every year, some for just a few years, and some who did it regularly until they moved out of the state.

we get together semi-regularly for dinner or for events, and the out-of-towners can often fly in to join us. what's most fun, quite often, is the email chain that builds as we discuss things, and so today, I'm sharing with you a bit of the fun.

whee!

J (in seattle): hey superfriends! while I sit here in rainy seattle, I dream of both skiing and summer bike rides so.... check out this 150 miler near sandpoint, idaho, chafe150.org.

L: tempting for sure and definitelly amazingly beautiful there... however, same weekend as Wahsatch steeplechase and I might want to do that this year...

J (in seattle): you can fly into spokane, lots of commercial flights into there.... just sayin'..... M and I are registered.

A: in the mean time, you can all learn "how to be a road biker,"

B: 150 miles and no major climbs? why not just go to a movie?

L: the bike seat might be more comfortable than a movie seat...

B: what about the gran fondo in moab...anybody up for that?

S: this sounds better than the sandpoint 150.... not sure if it's better than a movie, though.

B: oh, it's NOT better than a movie. but you do have to exercise sometimes, you know.

B: hey all, it snowed and the air cleared! we're thinking of having a celebratory dinner this saturday, let us know if you're interested.

T: we have symphony tickets, but if others can come I will change the date of the tickets.

B: symphony? why not just go on a 150 mile bike ride with no hills?

A: it's a toss up on which seats are more comfortable...

R: dinner sounds better than 150 miles or symphony. I'll bring wine.

J (in seattle): seattle kids are out, can't make it. hopefully we'll be back soon for more skiing! miss you guys!

L: not sure we can make it... we're going to have 6 kids under 9 years old at our house this weekend... I'll let you know.

B: wow. 6 kids < 9 years old. I'd rather ride 150 miles with no hills.

L: or we could watch a movie. or go to the symphony.

R: I'll bring wine.

what I have to say is this: thank God for friends.

friends are more fun than 150 mile bike rides without hills. or the symphony. or a movie. just sayin.

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the Male Ego

The other day I was coming down a canyon in my drop bars (two years ago I would have said, 'what's a drop bar?'), working hard, when I came up on two guys who were also heading downhill but at a more leisurely pace. I passed them, said hello as I did so, and pulled back into the bike lane. a few minutes later they went flying past me, faces looking dead ahead, not a single bit of acknowledgment that I even existed on this planet let alone was involved in and enjoying the same sport they were.
I have to attribute this to the male ego. what else can it be? now I know we all have egos, myself included. and mine even shows its ridiculous little head once in a while, or perhaps more often. but the difference between mine and say, those of certain men on bicycles, is that I KNOW mine exists and I can LAUGH at mine. I know my ego was quite excited to pass those guys, and I could also smile because I knew if the men had really been working like I was, they would have kicked my butt down the hill.
I think I pissed them off.
and I'm sure I will be sharing with you much more of my thoughts about the male ego . . .

a little history

I was married, and I had a mountain bike which I rarely rode. we separated, I moved out, and four months later someone stole my bike. the next spring, 2005, I bought myself a new mountain bike. I rode occasionally, and in april 2006 I rode in my first century, the Cactus Hugger in St. George, Utah. I made it 54 miles on that mountain bike, and it took me about 6 hours. I think that included the rest stops where I prayed that someone would steal my bike again . . .
in june 2006 I started riding my mountain bike five mornings a week, a 45-55 minute loop that was intended to be all about exercise. and what I found was that I loved the quiet, peaceful morning full of bird chatter and barely breaking sunrises. by that fall I was hooked, and began considering the purchase of a road bike. I rode up emigration canyon for the first time that Labor Day of 2006, panting and plowing along on my trusty (heavy) bike, and a month later I was the proud owner of my own road bike: I had become a two-bike girl!
a 17-week-long "power camp" over the winter and a handful of new friends kept bicycling front and center in my life, and when spring of 2007 rolled around I was ready to hit the pavement. I rode my first century the end of april, when I again went to St. George and completed that Cactus Hugger. it took me about 7 hours, but this time I rode the entire 100 miles with about 9300 feet of vertical gain. woo hoo!
I started riding canyons around our area, emigration and millcreek, city creek, big cottonwood, little mountain and big mountain, and once--yes, only once--little cottonwood.
then in september of 2007, I rode from Logan, Utah, to Jackson, Wyoming, in the slightly infamous LOTOJA race. I rode, I did not race. and I completed the thing, crediting my good training buddies, the incredibly perfect weather, my support team, and an amazing convergence of all things positive in the universe.
I put in about 3500 miles last season, and as of today, july 19, 2008, I have about 1700 in, adding to it every day.
I have again signed on to ride the LOTOJA race, and my goal is to have just somewhere near as great a ride as I did last year. oh, and to have someone fun to talk with along the way as I got incredibly bored last year . . . star valley is still a nightmare scene in my biking memories . . .
and here is a picture of the machine that has helped me reclaim my life.