I spent a good portion of my weekend playing in snow.
Friday at Snowbird, Utah.
Saturday a little short of Modjeska Peak in the Santa Ana Mountains of CA.
Tags: santa ana mountains
Busy start to 2009.
January 2009
Total Distance - 293.97 miles
Total Time - 33:25:29 hours
Total Ascent - 36,591 feet
Total Calories Burned - 22,104
Also put together a new bike to play with - the new Chumba VF2. I’m loving it with the Fox 36 up front.
Chumba VF2
Tags: chumba vf2, mountain bike
I spent the weekend racing out at Vail Lake for the first 12 Hours of Temecula race for 2009. The forecast the entire week was predicting some rain, so I had brought along my singlespeed as a backup bike just in case.
We actually did get some rain Friday night and Saturday morning as well - but as soon as race time rolled around, the skies started clearing and the trails were nice and tacky.
This was my first time racing Men’s Sport Solo. I have got to say there are some guys in this class putting in some ridiculous lap times (at least to me). Looking at the results, there was a few guys putting in lap times in the :45 minute range. My lap times were between 1:00 and 1:10. So to my surprise, I ended up taking 2nd place with 10 laps in 11:08.
This was also my first 12 hour race where I didn’t get cramps. I think the cooler weather played a big part in that. It was so nice not having to gingerly pedal up hills in fear of having your leg totally lock up.
I can’t wait till race #2 in June which will be at Rim Nordic this year. There’s still Vision Quest in a few weeks, which I still need to put in some training for, just to make sure I make all the cut off points.
Tags: 12 hour, 12 hours of temecula, cramps, vail lake, vision quest
Riding was a little limited in December. We got a bit of rain in So Cal - actually - cold rain - cold enough to leave some snow at some lower elevations. The snow and the wet conditions ended up temporarily closing some of the more popular local trails.
I’ve been messing around with a new bike lately. I put together a Spot Longboard 29er with the Gates Carbon Drive Systems belt. The gearing is a bit tall for a 29er - at approximately 32:19.5, but it’s a fun ride, and quiet and smooth. I did make it up to Old Camp earlier today on the Longboard - my first time on a singlespeed on that trail. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it’d be. My legs and back are only moderately sore.
December 2008
Total Distance - 188.75 miles
Total Time - 20:39:45 hours
Total Ascent - 22,718 feet
Total Calories Burned - 13,639
2008 Totals
Total Distance - 3087.13 miles
Total Time - 327:21:06 hours
Total Ascent - 317,470 feet
Total Calories Burned - 234,546
Today was my last ride for 2008. Broke 300,000 feet of elevation gain for the year, spending 327 hours pedaling. Burned 234,546 calories as well. That’s a lot of Big Macs.
Well, that’s 2008 in a nutshell. I’ll be enjoying a fun-filled vacation in Peru during the holidays.
Merry Christmas everyone!
Tags: mountain bike, mountain bike log, old camp, spot longboard
November 2008
Total Distance - 262.93 miles
Total Time - 29:55:18 hours
Total Ascent - 30,064 feet
Total Calories Burned - 19,509
2008 YTD
Total Distance - 2898.37 miles
Total Time - 306:41:21 hours
Total Ascent - 294,752 feet
Total Calories Burned - 230,907
Here’s how my weekend went at the season finale of the 12 Hours of Temecula. There were at least 14 Beginners pre-registered, but I’m not sure how many more registered the day of. I had a goal in my head of 8 laps (each lap being ~10 miles with approximately 1300 feet of elevation gain).
I was expecting it to be warm, but the winds and the low humidity made it tougher. I don’t recall any moment where I was actually dripping sweat on the climbs like I normally do. Instead, my sweat would evaporate immediately and just leave the salt behind. My throat still hurts today from the dry air and dust.
I think I went out a little too quickly again and despite my heat fueling plan, I started feeling twinges of cramps early on around lap 3. I never got full on leg-locking cramps, but just twinges in my calves, hamstrings and inner thigh. At that point, it was more about cramp management.
I finished up with 7 laps at 10:42 (7:42PM). There just wasn’t enough gas in the tank left to crank out an 8th lap in 1:15 lap to beat the 9PM deadline, so I called it a day. Plus, I don’t think I would have been able to gain a spot in the standings (and beer and food was calling).
My 7 laps were good enough for 3rd 4th place. Official Results.
Later that night, I received affirmation that I should never race in the Beginner class again in the form of this nice trophy.
And just for kicks, here’s what I consumed during the course of the race.
420oz of water w/ Elete
(3) 22oz bottles of Vanilla-Orange Perpetuem/Fresh Apple Cytomax Mix
(3) Clif Bars
(3) Gu Gels
(3) Hammer Gels
(2) Packets of Clif Bloks
(1) Coke Zero
(1) Gatorade G2
(8) Salt Stick Tablets
(1/2) Monster Energy Drink
(1) Pickle Juice Sport
Tags: 12 hour, 12 hours of temecula, endurance race, mountain biking