Ride the Rockies

Dear Chris Locke:

Congratulations! Your application for the 2009 Denver Post Ride The Rockies has been selected.

Finally some one likes me. After not getting into any of the other events that I entered, especially the Leadville 100, I was beginning to think no one liked me. But maybe my luck is turning around. This morning I got a confirmation email that Carolynn and I got into the Ride The Rockies tour.

It is time to dust off the old tandem and begin training. I have always wanted to ride a tour out west, but they seem to fill up rather quickly. Well, this year we are going. I just hope the old Burley will make it....


Or maybe it is time for a new ride??? Hell, I would rather put money into a new ride than the stock market......

I just read this on the ride site: "The steepest sustained grade on Ride The Rockies is typically 6 to 7 percent. You can expect to climb grades of this ilk for ten uninterrupted miles. (Occasionally a route includes 15, or even 20 miles of continuous climbing.) Also occasionally, a route will include a short (i.e. 1/4 mile) stretch of road as steep as 10 percent" - Carolynn we need to hit that Platte City via Parkville route about once a week.....

Devil's Revenge Recon

Update:

Here is the course map from Saturday's recon. Mark, Jeff, Gerard and Keith got in a good ride out to the course. Mark and I mapped the run course while everyone else played around on the skills course. I thought about adding the run course in for the MTB only option event, but after riding it I decided not to. Some very technical stuff back on that loop and Beginners and some Sport level riders would have some trouble....After mapping out the bike section, Mark and I took the White trail back to truck. We had to bail to the road the last two miles because it was getting muddy. After 3+ hours of riding with Mark I was toast.

Racing season is here. Where the hell did the off-season go??? Froze Toes Road Race is on Sunday. I can not go to that one due to work on Saturday night. Spring Fling's start up the following week, then it is time for for off-road fun. The Devil's Revenge is on March 7th.

If you want to check out the course we are heading out tomorrow to Clinton Lake for a couple hours of riding. While we are out I plan to map the run and bike legs of the course. I will update this post with the map on Sunday night. We are looking to add some more single track in.

For you guys/gals that like to ride off-road, but not so much run, there will be a bike only option at the Devil's Revenge. Working out all the details now.

Devil's Revenge Recon Ride
Saturday, February 21th, 2009
9:00am start time at the Corpse of Engineers trailhead

Old School Training.

I have decided to go "old school" , burn the training log and just workout for fun. Life has been so busy with work, studying, race promotion, team stuff and training that I think I just make myself tired and stressed out. I ask myself why are you worrying so much. This stuff is suppose to be fun. Back when I started training for triathlons in 1988, I did not keep a log. I did everything for fun and my results were much better. Yea I know I was 20 years younger.....

This past weekend I just rode and ran when I felt like it and had a great time. Counting Thursday's night ride with Randy I got in over 14 hours of training. Rode the heck out of my Mary while the trails were frozen, got in some good runs and ended up with a road ride with Tige yesterday. Today I don't feel much like doing anything, even my normal Yoga workout during lunch, so I am not.

Speaking of old school. The Competitors Radio show, which I highly recommend listening to, has a nice episode with Gary Fisher which talks about the history of mountain biking, floating checks, and some other cool stuff. - Check it out here.

Dan Tenaglia , It's Been Two Years...

Well, it has been two years since you passed away Dan. I still think about you everyday. I still have about 50 of your plants. They are at my house and work. I enjoy looking at your calendar everyday. Everytime I water them I think of you Dan.

Daniel Edward Tenaglia:
10/24/69-02/13/07
While riding his bicycle with wife Karen on Sunday, February 11, Daniel was struck by a vehicle. Two days later he passed away at East Alabama Medical Center. He was 37.

Dan is survived by wife Karen, parents Alfredo and Linda Tenaglia, sisters Gloria Cassidy and Marisa Campos, and brother Rik. He had two nieces and three nephews.
Dan was an accomplished cyclist, nature photographer--he developed the website www.missouriplants.com, a well-known botanists' guide to the flora of MO. With over a million monthly hits, Dan's knowledge was sought by people from all over the world.

Dan's passion for life and learning about plants, wildlife, woodworking, photography, cycling, cooking and nature gave him incredible happiness and respect for all living things. He explored the world and believed that life was a journey in which we should all learn as much as we possibly can about our surroundings. He also inspired everyone around him to enjoy every aspect and every minute of life.

Dan Tenaglia Foundation for the Preservation of Natural Areas. Donations will be used to purchase land for conservation in his name. Please make all checks payable to the "Dan Tenaglia Foundation" and send them to: P.O. Box 4281, Opelika, Alabama 36803-4281.

No Race Across the Sky

Well, it looks like I will not be suffering in Colorado this summer with the Single Speed Pirate. The rejection letter arrived yesterday in the mail. I was really looking forward to heading out to Colorado this summer.

I needed to get going quickly as I was meeting Randy (and hopefully some other guys) up in Smithville for a night gravel road ride, so I did not really digest the letter much. On the way up I thought about the letter more and what other events I wanted to do this year. Maybe this was life telling me that I am to climber :-)

It ended up being just Randy and I for our little night gravel road adventure. I did not get a real good look at the map Randy had sent, but it looked like more road than gravel. Well, I was wrong. Plenty of gravel and due to the recent weather and some fresh gravel it was hard going in places. I got to thinking about the letter I had received during the ride. For what ever reason, hills seem to always come associated with gravel roads. On one of those long energy sapping climbs, as I tried to carry my 180 lb body at the same pace as Randy's skinny 150 lb ass, I decided that I was indeed not a climber.

Randy's "4 County Gravel Road Grinder" was very fun. And yes we did hit 4 county's during our 35 mile ride. It took us 2 hours, 20 min to complete the ride. But with all the hills, the soft conditions and only stopping a few times to "find our way", I think that was a good pace. The route got me thinking about hosting a gravel road race next year. Very little traffic, in fact, I think we got passed by only one car during the entire ride.

MoreTesting Fun

I don't know why I do this to myself, but last month I sent in a request to be a guinea pig for a new "Research Study for Cyclist". Well, unlike my request to gain entry into the Leadville 100, this one was accepted.

I guess one benefit is I get another VO2 Max test performed. Back in August I had one done with Dr. Smith at Performance Plus and the test results were much lower than any of my previous test. I have had several done over the years and they were all about the same - VO2 MAX of 61 ml/kg/min with a 203 Max hr. The one in August had me at 42 with a 187 max HR. Did my VO2 Max and HR really drop that much in just a few years? Or were the results incorrect? We will see if I am just getting old on February 22.

Cure for a Cold Butt.

After last nights ride out at Landahl where I froze my butt off, I have decided get this little beauty. The Mary already weights 30 pounds, so what is a few more....