Gettin' there!

(take out the chips and Pepsi, I usually eat more nutritously than that cat)
I swear the last few weeks has been hard. Just not going on a ride when my mind is telling me to but my legs weren't. As I mentioned a few posts back, I've made a mistake on going too hard too early and then I got burnt. Well, I am still trying to recover, and to recover from my mistakes. After the bike race and Arizona bike rides, I took a week off except I did a recovery ride or two and then decided to go on a hard ride, I couldn't make it up the first hill. My legs felt wasted. So, I've decided, I just needed a little more time to let my leg muscles recooperate. Then over this weekend I went on a 2 hour moderate intensity ride and two recovery rides and my legs felt a little better. I am hoping maybe this week or two weeks, I will back into training. One fellow biker asked me if I am eating enough bananas and I think I am, I don't know really, but I know it's from the (too hard) training from winter when I was supposed to do moderate intensity workouts. So, I don't know, it's really a mystery to me. It's hard when it's so nice outside and the trails are dry and it's making mad. I keep telling myself in the past few weeks, why did I ride too much in 15 degree weather over the winter and now I can't ride at all while it's 60-70 degrees right now? I should have turned the other way around and then have a perfect season but still, I am getting there, still eating enough vitamins and minerals, making sure I am getting plenty of sleep, and doing a lot of walking and recovery rides. I just have to be a little more patient. Maybe one more week or a few days, then I might feel ready to ride hard and do lot's of climbing, I hope!

New Trail

This bridge for the rock is the starting of the trail going the uphill way to make a good loop for the Flume by not riding on the canyon road. It's all pure singletrack, except the New Canyon Road part but hey, better than going up the main road. Anyway, I just built the trail that goes along the base of the foothills to the mouth of Ephraim Canyon from Gordon's Farm from when the Flume Trail ends so you can make a loop. I built half of this and another guy built the other half, he did this wood bridge in the picture above, it's strong enough for motorcycles to go over it and horses can go around it. It's a great trail. All the pictures are in riding order. Enjoy. Actually go out and enjoy the trail, way better than looking at these pictures.

I love these tires...they rock!

For the last ten years, I have stuck with Hutchinsen Python tires and since everybody uses Maxxis tires in the race team, which Maxxis is one of our sponsors, I've decided to try Maxxis out. After a few rides and a race, I totally fell in love with these tires. I got the Maxxis Crossmark tires and they really handle well. I can corner so much better than my Python tires. The Crossmarks can really get a good grip while I climb up rocky technical sections. So now I am going to stick with Maxxis. One of the reasons I stuck with Hutchinsens was because I really liked the thick sidewalls on them and they were pinch flat proof. These Maxxis have very good sidewalls also(they call it the Exo Protection). I am looking forward to many rides on these.

There is an Arizona

Sunrise from South Mountain near Phoenix

South Mountain

South Mountain

South Mountain, Desert Classic Trail

Red Mountain, Hawes Trail

Red Mountain

Red Mountain

Country singer Jamie O'Neal(There is No Arizona) is nothing but a no good liar. After we got there, I thought "there is an Arizona you stupid b*$#^!" We drove down there to see some family and I definitely, ya for sure, took my bike. It was great, if you know where to go. I did a lot of research on the internet on what trails to do and luckily my mountain bike magazine came 3 days before we left and it had a whole big article on trails around Phoenix. It talked about what trails are best and it was a great tool.

First, I did the Desert Classic Trail in South Mountain Area just southwest of Tempe, and this area is the biggest bike park in the world they say. About 60 miles worth of trails. The Desert Classic Trial is more cross country bike friendly while the rest of them were downhill bike specific trails. The trail goes right on the foothills of the mountain. This trail reminded me a lot of the Road Apple Trail in Farmington, NM. A lot of fast rolling trail kind of riding, so I did an out and back in about 20 miles in 2 hours.

The next morning, I got to do another ride in another place, a better place for XC riding. Red Mountain Area. A cousin down there in Mesa told me about the area and recommended me to go there. It was great because it had more extended climbs and more steeper, technical downhills. This area was more prettier and more out of Phoenix area, and I really liked this area. I did about 13 miles in about an hour and 20 minutes. The cactus were more closer to the trails and the trails weren't as overused as the Desert Classic Trail so that's what made it more fun and challenging.

The weather was perfect and of course I went out there 6 in the morning every morning because it would get hotter later in the day, plus I was just got too excited to get up and do some riding in those mornings. It was great and I hope to go do some riding down there again some other time. Phoenix spring is like a Utah summer, that was so awesome.

Cholla Challenge 2011

The lap went all the way down there in the red rocks, great singletrack loop, 7.5 miles each lap and I did two of them and it was great riding

Me in a lot of post race pain and still grinning

Mom and sister were spectators.....with books

The Cholla Challenge MTB race turned out better than I thought it ever did. I was worried that I didn't get rested enough before it but I did. I was surprised that I could do 2 laps with no problems. They had the Clydesdale do two laps in this one and I did want to do two laps in this race by the way. Everybody thought it was too hot but I thought that was a bunch of crap and hooey. I thought it was perfect weather, a bunch of whining babies. Just drink a lot of water that's all you got to do and you're all set. I did hydrate enough and the race turned out too smoothly for me, I also refueled with Hammer Gel just right during the race. That's why I had a good race this time. I stayed in second place most of the time and this guy in 3rd kept catching up to me and we were just going back in forth during the whole race. The 1st place guy was just 10 seconds ahead of us during the whole time and he kept a good pace. I couldn't catch up with him but at the end of the last lap, the 3rd place guy caught up and passed me(I am not good on flat land, I could pass him easily on the uphills), so since the last part is mostly flat I couldn't pass him or the 1st place guy but at the end we all finished just seconds apart. It was a good race.

Rest is important...but sometimes it takes longer than you think...

Well, I did a totally bad thing at the first of the year...I went riding too hard when I shouldn't have. The main thing...you get the idea, I went too hard too much too early. When I was supposed to do base training, I wanted to cheat a little bit, I did sprints and intervals all of January and February, then by the end of February, I was all burnt. I tried to go on rides, my legs, mostly the quads, hurt. Even after I try to not ride and rest for 3-4 days, I just couldn't recover, my legs were still in pain, and I've lost interest in biking. On my ride on the 1st weekend of March, I stopped and said, "that's it, no more riding for a while". I'm talking weeks. That night, I've read some information on the internet about overreaching and overtraining. Usually, to recover, it takes 1-9 weeks to feel good again. I was hoping this was going to take me at least a couple weeks. After 2 weeks, I wasn't fully at it yet but I went to Moab anyway and did a couple rides, actually, I felt pretty good and felt rested so I rode really good. I was surprised. Then now I haven't ridden since then, except a few easy spin rides, and I got a race this Saturday and I think I am ready. I am doing two laps this time, total 15 miles. This should be good because right now, all I feel like is riding. I haven't really done any hard rides all of March except two little rides in Moab last week which turned out really good. I hope for the same this weekend at the race. Next year, I hope I don't make the same mistake like I did this year. I should be doing just endurance riding in Jan., Feb., and some of March, then do hard intervals. Last year, winter of '09 and '10, I did it right. I did base training for a couple of months and lifted weights at the same time, then I felt refreshed by March for some hard efforts. I did have a good season last year, except I should have tapered down in the middle of the summer and built it back up. But all well, I learn every day. That's life I guess. I've learned in the past few years, nobody can have a perfect training season, there's always ups and downs. That's good, because those kind of things can give you challenges to live for.